Longshot Republican presidential candidate John Cox, a Chicago businessman, made a low-key visit to New Hampshire today, a few weeks after a major shakeup left him with just one staff member in the state.

Among those who left the campaign last month was his New Hampshire coordinator and national communications director, Stephen Abbott.

Longshot Republican presidential candidate John Cox will open his New Hampshire headquarters next week.

Cox, the Chicago millionaire, has reserved prime real estate right above the Merrimack Restaurant on Manchester’s Elm Street.

He will attend an office opening on Jan. 3 and he will sign copies of his new book, Politic$ earlier in the day in Nashua.

The 2006 elections aren’t even a month over and yard signs for the 2008 New Hampshire Primary are already popping up in the Granite State.

Supporters of Republican John Cox, a Chicago-area businessman, have placed about 100 signs in the state's populous Southern tier over the past few weeks.

Stephen Abbott, Cox’s national spokesman and New Hampshire coordinator, said volunteers began putting up the signs Nov. 19. They will also be taking them in early December.

“We don’t want them littering the highways,” said Abbott. “We just wanted to show we had a organization on the groud and just to get them thinking about a person the mainstream media has largely ignored.”

Cox has visited New Hampshire nine times is planning another trip in January.