They are the not-so-secret weapons in the campaign arsenal: the spouses. They stand by their men, and woman, defending, promoting and even spinning — literally — their candidates.

Anita Perry made news with her feisty defense of husband Rick Perry at a campaign stop in New Hampshire Thursday, where she vilified her husband’s opponent.

“When I hear 9-9-9, I want to call 911,” she said, referring to Herman Cain’s economic plan.

Also speaking in the Granite State, Ann Romney told a crowd of supporters just how much she supports her husband — enough to go through a presidential bid with him twice.

“The last time I spoke I mentioned I’d never do this again, and here we are,” Ann Romney said. “Someone in the audience came up to me later and said, ‘Well how do you feel about it now?’ And I feel like … I have to make that really clear, I’m 100 per cent behind Mitt. in fact this is my here, go do that Mitt,” she said, miming a pushing motion.

Jon Huntsman can also rely on the love of a good woman, who says she fell for him despite their vastly different upbringings. Mary Kaye Huntsman said she grew up in Orlando, Florida on “grits and key lime pie” and never imagined “that I would fall in love with a guy out west who wore cowboy boots and loved shot guns.”

Some spouses have been silent — there has been nary a peep from the other halves of Herman Cain, Newt Gringrich, or Rick Santorum.

Marcus Bachmann showed his support by twirling candidate Michele Bachman in a lively two-step at a campaign stop in Iowa, a move that may just be the most entertaining political spin on the 2012 campaign trail.