DURHAM, N.H. (AP) – Though some candidates complained that Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate focused too much on Iraq, another place popped up just as frequently – New Hampshire.

With polls showing about a quarter of likely voters in the prized primary undecided, the candidates didn’t miss an opportunity to play to the home crowd, sprinkling their speeches with frequent references to the state and its residents.

North Carolina Sen. John Edwards was the most likely to mention New Hampshire, starting with his first question about former Vice President Al Gore’s decision to endorse Howard Dean.

“I have this curious notion: I think most voters in America make their own decisions,” he said. “After spending so much time in New Hampshire, you sure can’t tell the people of New Hampshire what to do.”

Edwards also used the state when accusing President Bush of neglecting terrorism risks at home. He argued that nuclear plants and ports aren’t as well protected as they should be.

“Right here in New Hampshire, that danger exists,” he said. “We don’t have the people and the technology to do the job.”

John Kerry, when asked to describe something Dean has done right to pull ahead in the polls, switched the subject to a New Hampshire woman who appeared with him at a news conference last month. He described how Lisa Denuccio and her family have to use bottled water because their drinking supply is tainted by the gasoline additive MTBE, which he has said he would ban if elected.

The pollutant has turned up in a sixth of the state’s drinking water supplies, Kerry said.

“This administration is trying to prevent accountability for MTBE,” he said.

Kerry had his facts a bit wrong when he said the family can’t drink the water or take showers. In a telphone interview Tuesday night, Denuccio said the couple now showers with the water from their town rather than the old polluted well. “We can’t do without that,” she said of the showers. However, she says they still drink bottled water.

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and the Rev. Al Sharpton were asked to explain why they rarely campaign in the state. Sharpton said all candidates are limited by their resources and availability, and disputed the moderator’s count of how few times he has visited New Hampshire.

“You must be using the Florida Republican count,” he said.

Braun said she has done her best to get her message out in New Hampshire. “I believe New Hampshire voters can cut to the chase, separate the wheat from the chaff, and recognize someone who brings the kind of experience I do,” she said.

Sen. Joe Lieberman was asked whether his job creation plan would help laid off workers in New Hampshire.

The National Association of Manufacturers estimates the state lost 21,500 factory jobs between July 2000 and August of this year. A big blow last week was the Tyson Foods announcement that it will close its Jac Pac meat processing plant in Manchester and lay off 550 workers in February.

Meanwhile, the North Country continues to struggle with layoffs at the pulp and paper mills in Berlin and Gorham. Fraser Papers, which saved the mills when previous owners went bankrupt and shut them down in 2001, laid off 114 hourly workers and 15 salaried employees last month. The mills, the largest private employer in northern New Hampshire, were closed for nine months, throwing 830 people out of work and devastating the area.

The Connecticut senator said his plan would create 10 million jobs in four years in part by giving tax credits to companies that keep their jobs in the United States. “This is our number one priority,” he said.

Despite the frequent mentions, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan said she wished the candidates had spent more time talking about the issues important to state voters.

She was thrilled when Rep. Dennis Kucinich chastised moderator Ted Koppel for repeatedly asking about Gore’s endorsement.

“I want the American people to see where media takes politics in this country,” Kucinich said to cheers from the crowd. “We start talking about endorsements, now we’re talking about polls and then talking about money. When you do that you don’t have to talk about what’s important to the American people.”

“It was like a candidate rebellion,” Sullivan said. “I thought the candidates really took control of the debate.”

AP-ES-12-09-03 2213EST