The Republican National Committee rules committee has voted to grant New Hampshire an exception that would allow the Granite State to hold the first-in-the nation primary in 2012.

The resolution still faces hurdles over the week. Tomorrow the RNC itself will vote on the resolution, then on Friday the convention rules committee will vote and on Monday the entire convention will vote on the exception.

"This resolution still faces challenges, but it's a step in the right direction," New Hampshire's RNC committeeman Sean Mahoney told PolitickerNH.com. "We're cautiously optimistic this rule will get passed."

Mahoney credited U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will helping to form the resolution.

"We're moving in the right direction and this couldn't have been done without John McCain's unwavering commitment to the New Hampshire primary," he said.

UPDATE: "I have never felt more confident in our strategy, by accepting the sanction we made it more likely that the committee favored our position," New Hampshire Republican Chairman Fergus Cullen told PolitickerNH.com. "If we had acted like a bunch of whiners the committee would have been unlikely to be favorable towards us."