The road ahead looks good for Romney despite South Carolina

The Republican presidential nomination race is momentarily in turmoil. But Mitt Romney, who long ago prepared for a long, methodical slog, is still in strong shape. Every non-incumbent Republican presidential nominee since 1980 has lost at least one primary on the road to nomination. | 01/22/12 15:37:00 By - David Lightman

Gingrich rode big debate skills — and homeboy Southern style — to S.C. victory

Former House Speaker Gingrich's victory in the South Carolina Republican primary is a testament to him sticking to an unconventional campaign strategy that many experts dismissed as political suicide. | 01/21/12 19:40:50 By - William Douglas

Gingrich wins huge come-from-behind victory in South Carolina

Newt Gingrich surged to a landslide victory in the South Carolina Republican primary Saturday, a stunning come-from-behind upset that shook the contest for the party's presidential nomination. Mitt Romney came in second, a crushing loss for the one-time front-runner, his hopes dashed for a quick and triumphant march toward the title. | 01/21/12 18:04:18 By - Steven Thomma, David Lightman and Gina Smith

Late S.C. poll shows Gingrich surging to big lead

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Newt Gingrich appeared headed for a big victory in South Carolina's Republican presidential primary Saturday, as he rides a wave of momentum cresting off two strong debate performances here this week. | 01/20/12 18:49:00 By - David Lightman, Steven Thomma and William Douglas

Lame duck California congressman endorses Stephen Colbert

It's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but lame duck California congressman Dennis Cardoza is apparently defecting to The Colbert Nation. | 01/20/12 13:07:55 By - Brandon Bowers and Michael Tharp

Florida Gov. Rick Scott says he probably won't endorse in GOP presidential primary

Florida Gov. Rick Scott today said he likely will not publicly endorse a candidate in advance of the Florida Republican presidential primary on Jan. 31. | 01/20/12 12:20:58 By - Marc R. Masferrer

'Newt wouldn't get my vote,' former S.C. First Lady Jenny Sanford says

Former S.C. First Lady Jenny Sanford is not a Newt Gingrich fan.

In an interview on MSNBC on Thursday, Sanford said some voters might be swayed by a TV interview with Gingrich’s second wife where she accused the former House speaker of wanting an open marriage. Sanford divorced her husband, former SC Gov. Mark Sanford, after he had an affair with a woman from Argentina while he was in office. | 01/20/12 07:24:24 By - Andrew Shain

Gingrich scolds media for spotlighting ex-wife's complaint

Newt Gingrich lashed out angrily at the news media Thursday night for fresh reporting on his failed second marriage, in an extraordinary opening to a high-stakes debate two days before a pivotal GOP presidential primary in South Carolina. | 01/19/12 21:27:07 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman

Suddenly Romney's on the ropes as developments rock GOP race

Put the champagne on ice. Hold the coronation. Mitt Romney's hopes of quickly clinching the Republican presidential nomination may be fading. He now finds himself facing a very tough fight with Newt Gingrich, a man he thought he'd buried back in Iowa. | 01/19/12 17:10:00 By - Steven Thomma

Gingrich surging in S.C., but cloud shadows his campaign

Newt Gingrich was surging in South Carolina hours before the state's crucial Republican primary Saturday, but in typical Gingrich roller-coaster fashion, a late-breaking scandal threatened to derail his campaign just as it was peaking. | 01/19/12 15:18:00 By - David Lightman

S.C. politicians say it's too early to see a difference in the race sans Perry

S.C. politicos say it’s too early to say whether Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropping out the race will give Newt Gingrich a boost in the final days leading up to the S.C. primary. | 01/19/12 12:22:30 By - Gina Smith

Marianne Gingrich says Newt wanted 'open marriage'

Newt Gingrich's second wife, Marianne, has some big doubts about her ex-husband's character. Here's part of a news release from ABC, which will air an interview with her on tonight's "Nightline." | 01/19/12 11:41:42 By - David Lightman

Perry drops GOP presidential bid

Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropped his presidential bid Thursday, asking his supporters to instead stand behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, just two days before the South Carolina primary that was considered crucial for his run for the White House. | 01/19/12 09:30:43 By - Anna M. Tinsley and Dave Montgomery

Commentary: Will Colbert Nation make its point about super PACs in S.C. primary?

What's more likely to call attention to the outrage that is the super PAC: a bunch of Occupiers showing up at federal courthouses Friday — or Colbert Nation upending Saturday's South Carolina Republican primary by voting for Herman Cain? | 01/19/12 07:35:34 By - Linda P. Campbell

Comedian Colbert to hold rally with Cain in Charleston, S.C.

Stephen Colbert will visit Charleston on Friday for a rally with former presidential candidate Herman Cain in the comedian's bid to win support during the S.C. GOP presidential primary on Saturday. | 01/19/12 07:28:31 By - Andrew Shain

In Miami, Romney's tenure with Bain Capital is debated

Off a gritty bend in the Miami River, a few miles from a warehouse where he recently touted his job-creation plans, there’s a complex of buildings that bear witness to a time when Mitt Romney’s private equity firm laid off hundreds of workers, shuttered a profitable factory and made out with hundreds of millions of dollars. | 01/19/12 07:14:11 By - Marc Caputo and Alex Leary

Small crowds speak to Perry's struggling, dying campaign

Rick Perry walked into a pizza shop with eight news cameras trained on him, a dozen more reporters and a handful of Texas troopers and campaign staff. At most, a dozen ordinary people waited for him Wednesday at Wild Ace Pizza. This isn't what a top-tier presidential candidate's events should look like just four days before Saturday's South Carolina primary. | 01/18/12 18:21:00 By - Marc Caputo

Obama heads to swing state of Florida for travel announcement

Arriving in Florida just days before the Republican candidates who want his job begin to court the state's voters, President Barack Obama on Thursday is expected to tout a plan that he says will help a region whose economy is heavily dependent on visitors. | 01/18/12 17:54:00 By - Erika Bolstad

Romney unloads on Gingrich as polls show S.C. race tightening

Fighting to protect his lead in South Carolina, Mitt Romney's campaign hit back hard Wednesday at chief rival Newt Gingrich, accusing him of "leadership by chaos" that cost the Republican Party once and would again. | 01/18/12 17:23:00 By - Steven Thomma, David Lightman and William Douglas

Democrats' House political team taps two Californians for campaign support

Democratic strategists on Wednesday put more serious muscle behind two Central Valley congressional challengers. Now, get ready for the advertising deluge. | 01/18/12 16:31:00 By - Michael Doyle

Hard times in S.C. make the economy the dominant issue

South Carolina's economy has been battered in recent years, and as a result, the dominant issue here as Saturday's Republican primary approaches is how to get people working and confident again. | 01/18/12 14:52:00 By - David Lightman and William Douglas

Days before South Carolina votes, can anyone stop Romney?

Time is running out for anyone to stop Mitt Romney from winning the South Carolina Republican primary Saturday, perhaps the last chance to keep him from running away with the party's presidential nomination. | 01/17/12 18:47:00 By - Steven Thomma

Romney paid only a 15 percent tax rate; Gingrich demands full story

Mitt Romney tried Tuesday to defuse a growing controversy dogging his front-runner campaign for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination by saying that he "probably" pays a tax rate of 15 percent, far lower than the 35 percent top rate one might assume that a multimillionaire pays. | 01/17/12 18:11:00 By - David Lightman

Romney's private equity record: Jobs lost, jobs created

Did Republican front-runner Mitt Romney create jobs or destroy them when he ran the private equity firm Bain Capital? The question has dominated debate ahead of South Carolina's heated presidential primary Saturday, and the answer to both questions, oddly enough, is yes. | 01/17/12 16:15:00 By - Kevin G. Hall

DNC shortens Charlotte convention to 3 days

The Democratic National Convention Committee announced today that its upcoming Charlotte convention program will be shortened from four days to three days, and that the event will begin on Labor Day with a party at Charlotte Motor Speedway. | 01/17/12 12:18:11 By - Steve Harrison

Romney, Paul continue S.C. push with stops in Rock Hill

The front-runner and an underdog vying for the Republican presidential nomination will make their first stops in Rock Hill today and tomorrow, days before the state's first-in-the-South primary. | 01/17/12 07:30:54 By - Jamie Self

South Carolina Mormons welcome GOP spotlight on their faith

As in 2008, the S.C. Republican Presidential Primary offers the political spectacle of Mitt Romney's Mormon beliefs running head on into a Bible Belt electorate. | 01/17/12 07:21:11 By - Michael Gordon

Obama to speak at Bank of America stadium on DNC's final night

On the final night of this fall's Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech at Bank of America stadium, party sources told the Observer on Monday night. | 01/17/12 07:17:20 By - Jim Morrill

GOP rivals gang up on front-runner Romney in South Carolina debate

His rival Republican presidential candidates slammed Mitt Romney Monday night in an increasingly desperate effort to stop his momentum toward possible victory in Saturday's South Carolina primary — and with it a likely unshakable grip on the party's presidential nomination. They took turns in a fiery debate portraying him as a cold corporate titan who cast aside workers to pocket millions and a secretive millionaire whose record would eventually lead Republicans to regret choosing him. | 01/16/12 22:22:20 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

Billionaire Wyoming investor backs Santorum 'super' PAC

A billionaire Wyoming investor has pledged to give up to a half-million dollars in matching money to an outside spending group that supports Rick Santorum for the GOP presidential nomination. | 01/16/12 18:36:00 By - Peter Stone

Arizona official apologizes for Obama birth verification request

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett has apologized for any embarrassment he caused his state when he revived a widely discredited conspiracy theory about President Barack Obama's birthplace by requesting verification that the president was born in Hawaii. | 05/24/12 06:33:05 By - Kim Geiger

James O'Keefe's video about N.C. voting called incorrect, 'infuriating'

In an undercover "sting" video that has caused a stir since debuting online last week, a national group led by conservative activist James O'Keefe cites the cases of three Wake County voters in an effort to show that it's easy to commit voter fraud here. | 05/24/12 06:33:05 By - Jay Price

Gingrich, Santorum court S.C. tea party

Both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum spent part of Monday touting themselves as the true conservative in the race and urging S.C. Tea Party members to back them before it’s too late and frontrunner Mitt Romney runs away with the S.C. primary. | 01/16/12 18:30:24 By - Gina Smith

Huntsman drops GOP bid, endorses Romney

Jon Huntsman dropped his struggling campaign for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination Monday and endorsed rival Mitt Romney.

The former governor of Utah and ambassador to China bowed to the inevitable, hastening the end of a beleaguered campaign that had little money, next to no popular support and no prospect for significant gains in any states coming up on the primary calendar. | 01/16/12 12:11:37 By - Steven Thomma

Black Republicans raise their profile, focus on character

The isolation of being African-American and Republican rang clear to Sam Bain when he joined a group of about 100 other sign-waving protesters at a 2010 speech by President Barack Obama at Ohio State University. | 01/16/12 11:38:43 By - Mara Rose Williams

Perry says South Carolina isn't his campaign's Alamo

Gov. Rick Perry said Sunday that he is undaunted by his failure to win the backing of leading social conservatives and expressed confidence that he can still rally conservative voters in Saturday's South Carolina primary with his message of job creation and economic recovery. | 01/16/12 07:36:34 By - Dave Montgomery

Sen. DeMint kicks off S.C. tea party convention in Myrtle Beach

This year’s election is a fight, and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint is certain conservatives can win.

“If they won’t see the light, make them feel the heat,” he told Tea Party convention attendees from all over South Carolina as he opened the two-day party convention in Myrtle Beach on Sunday. | 01/16/12 07:33:00 By - Lorena Anderson

Romney's rivals hope to catch a wave in Myrtle Beach debate

Tonight’s Republican presidential debate in Myrtle Beach is likely to be the most important one yet for both South Carolina and the national Republican Party. | 01/16/12 07:27:42 By - Gina Smith

Big banks have picked their candidate, and it's Romney

Employees at the five largest U.S. banks by assets, including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., have given Romney about $600,000 through the first three quarters of 2011, according to the most recent filings available from the Federal Election Commission. No. 2? President Barack Obama, with $200,000. | 01/15/12 19:22:37 By - Andrew Dunn

Huntsman to leave GOP race Monday and endorse Romney

The former governor of Utah never caught on with the Republican primary electorate, suspect for accepting President Barack Obama’s nomination to be his ambassador to China, and branded as too moderate for his acceptance of the science of global warming. Polls showed him tied for last place with Gov. Rick Perry of Texas in both South Carolina and Florida, which votes on Jan. 31 and where Huntsman once based his campaign. | 01/15/12 16:53:00 By - Steven Thomma and Gina Smith

Predicting the South Carolina GOP vote is a challenge

As the campaign for South Carolina's first-in-the-South Republican presidential primary enters its final week, many GOP activists and analysts in the state warn against portraying it as an ultraconservative bastion dominated by single-minded evangelicals. While true in some aspects, they say, such a simplistic depiction ignores a shifting swirl of demographic, religious and historical currents that belie pat predictions about the outcome of Saturday's voting. | 01/15/12 14:58:00 By - James Rosen

'Stop Romney' Christian conservatives decide to back Santorum

With South Carolina's Republican presidential primary a week away, former Sen. Rick Santorum on Saturday received the endorsement of 150 influential Christian conservative leaders who are hoping to prevent former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney from becoming the GOP nominee. | 01/14/12 16:04:00 By - William Douglas and Adam Beam

Is it too late for Newt Gingrich in Florida? He thinks not

Newt Gingrich started to turn Florida’s Republican primary into a two-man contest Friday by hitting opponent Mitt Romney from the right, left and center at Miami’s Versailles Restaurant and during a headquarters opening in Orlando. | 01/14/12 10:40:41 By - Marc Caputo and Patricia Mazzei

Romney's Bain made millions as S.C. steelmaker went bankrupt

Bain Capital spent $24.5 million to acquire GS Industries in 1993, according to an investment prospectus for the company. By the end of that decade, Bain Capital estimated its partners had made $58.4 million off its investment. During that time, the steel manufacturer cut more than 1,750 jobs, shuttered a division that had been around for 100 years and eventually sank into bankruptcy. | 01/14/12 09:48:09 By - David Wren

Romney's record at Bain dominates another campaign day

With the Republican presidential race in South Carolina tightening Friday, front-runner Mitt Romney launched a TV ad that portrays his tenure as the head of a private equity firm positively, while Newt Gingrich unveiled a Web spot mocking Romney's ability to speak French. | 01/13/12 18:51:00 By - William Douglas

S.C. tea party to hold convention in Myrtle Beach before GOP debate

The South Carolina Tea Party Coalition is hosting its first-ever state Tea Party Convention in Myrtle Beach prior to the GOP presidential debate. | 01/13/12 07:24:58 By - Brad Dickerson

Romney defends his record at Bain Capital as GOP rivals attack

After enduring days of blistering attacks from his rivals, Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney on Thursday defended his record at Bain Capital, a private equity firm that sometimes laid off workers while attempting to turn companies around. | 01/12/12 18:46:00 By - William Douglas and Adam Beam

Social conservative leaders to huddle in Texas, assess 2012 GOP candidates

Social conservative leaders from across the nation will gather at a Texas ranch this weekend to discuss their choice of candidates in the Republican presidential race, including the possibility of uniting behind a candidate other than front-runner Mitt Romney. | 01/12/12 18:12:00 By - Dave Montgomery

Obama's campaign rakes in $68 million in 4th quarter

President Barack Obama's re-election campaign raised $68 million in the last three months of 2011, closing out a healthy year that dwarfed his Republican opponents. | 01/12/12 17:59:00 By - Lesley Clark

Super PACs are making their rich presence felt in 2012 campaigns

Super PACs are living up to their early billing as potential game-changers in the 2012 elections. Free to flood a campaign with as much money as they can, these souped-up political action committees have already impacted the Republican presidential contest. | 01/12/12 16:12:00 By - David Goldstein

In S.C., Gingrich says he can unite Republicans

Trailing another disappointing fourth place primary finish, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich added himself to a growing list of underdogs pinning their White House hopes on South Carolina voters Wednesday morning in Rock Hill. | 01/12/12 07:22:09 By - Jamie Self

Poll: Florida voters narrowly prefer Romney to Obama

Florida voters disapprove of President Barack Obama’s job performance, say he doesn’t deserve to be reelected and narrowly prefer Republican Mitt Romney in a theoretical matchup, according to a new poll. | 01/12/12 07:06:07 By - Marc Caputo

In South Carolina, Romney's GOP opponents attack his business record

The Republican presidential sweepstakes shifted Wednesday to South Carolina, where former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hopes to keep running the table of contests while his rivals try desperately to halt his momentum toward the GOP nomination. | 01/11/12 18:19:00 By - William Douglas and David Lightman

Perry throws jabs at Romney, Bain Capital in S.C. stop

While New Hampshire cast its votes Tuesday, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry immersed himself in South Carolina voters – shaking hands at a breakfast meet-and-greet in Rock Hill and dishing out harsh criticism of front-runner Mitt Romney for lunch in Indian Land. | 01/11/12 07:40:43 By - Don Worthington and Jamie Self

Paul, Perry are a tale of two Texans in New Hampshire

With New Hampshire in the rearview mirror, the two Texans in the Republican presidential campaign face vastly differing sets of challenges as the race turns toward the first Southern primary in South Carolina. | 01/11/12 07:33:17 By - Dave Montgomery

South Carolina is now in GOP spotlight

South Carolinians, be careful where you step over the next 10 days. You might trip over a Republican presidential candidate. New Hampshire’s GOP primary offered no knockout blows Tuesday night, meaning the Palmetto State will be flooded by the half-dozen-member Republican field in the run-up to this state’s first-in-the-South primary Jan. 21. | 01/11/12 07:21:22 By - Wayne Washington

Romney looks like the nominee, but his flaws could hurt come fall

Mitt Romney heads out of New Hampshire on Wednesday on a probable march to the Republican presidential nomination — but with scars and weaknesses that could lead him to limp weakly into a general election against President Barack Obama. | 01/10/12 20:19:00 By - Steven Thomma

Romney wins in New Hampshire, strengthens claim to GOP nomination

Mitt Romney won a decisive victory Tuesday in New Hampshire's Republican primary, scoring a solid triumph that firmly establishes him as the favorite to win the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. He became the first Republican non-incumbent presidential candidate to win both Iowa and New Hampshire's early contests. | 01/10/12 20:14:00 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

Perry: Romney, Wall Street firms are 'vultures'

Banking on South Carolina's Jan. 21 primary to "give us our second wind," Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday likened front runner Mitt Romney and Bain Capital, the private equity firm he used to run, to "vultures" that swooped in to buy and sell companies, leaving behind many unemployed workers with nothing. | 01/10/12 17:06:28 By - Tim Funk

Don't call Mitt Romney ‘The 25 Percent Man’ any longer in Florida

Once mocked as "The 25 Percent Man" due to his poll numbers, Mitt Romney can now boast he's leading the GOP presidential race in Florida, where a new poll shows him earning more than a third of the vote. | 01/09/12 17:30:28 By - Marc Caputo

Romney retains big lead in polls as voting begins in New Hampshire

The race for the Republican presidential nomination has two tiers in this state, which votes Tuesday in the first 2012 primary. Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, can take a giant step forward with a big win here, while his five major challengers are vying for the mantle of chief Romney opponent. | 01/09/12 17:20:00 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

S.C. voters wonder: Will Rick Perry play the spoiler?

Heath Stephens, a 48-year-old auto repair shop owner, has decided he is not voting for Mitt Romney. After that, it gets kind of tricky. At the Beacon Drive-In Sunday afternoon, Stephens listened to Rick Perry talk about his faith in Jesus Christ and how Texas, where Perry is governor, is the “most competitive state in the nation” — two things Stephens liked to hear. But with Perry at 5 percent in the polls, Stephens is troubled. | 01/09/12 07:37:46 By - Adam Beam

ACLU raises concerns over ordinances in Charlotte, N.C., for DNC

The city of Charlotte's proposed crowd-control ordinances for the Democratic National Convention have concerned the American Civil Liberties Union, which fears the new rules would give police too much power. | 01/09/12 07:25:24 By - Steve Harrison

California Republicans resigned to irrelevance in GOP presidential race

While the Republican presidential campaigns fast-forward to New Hampshire on Tuesday and South Carolina on Jan. 21, hardly anyone in California is off the couch. Republicans here know the race may be over before they vote on June 5. "Sadly, we are irrelevant," said Celeste Greig, president of the conservative California Republican Assembly. | 01/09/12 06:49:11 By - David Siders and Torey Van Oot

New Hampshire voters take their time to make their minds

Don't tell a New Hampshire voter what to do.

These Yankee stoics will make up their minds about Tuesday's Republican primary when they're good and ready. They spent the weekend seeing and studying the candidates in their own deliberate way. And frankly, they'll tell you, none of 'em are all that impressive. | 01/09/12 06:44:40 By - David Lightman

Commentary: Romney might wish to decline Haley's endorsement

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney would have been better off had he won the endorsement of President Barack Obama instead of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. | 01/09/12 06:07:52 By - Issac J.Bailey

Romney takes his lumps at last New Hampshire debate

Republican rivals ganged up on front runner Mitt Romney in a nationally televised debate Sunday, their last high-profile chance to challenge his lead in New Hampshire and slow his momentum toward the nomination. "Pious baloney," one candidate sneered at Romney. | 01/08/12 20:34:37 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman

Ron Paul running a solid second in New Hampshire

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is pushing for a strong second-place finish in Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire, where his Libertarian-style campaign seems to resonate with the state's independent-minded voters and young people. | 01/08/12 00:01:00 By - Maria Recio

GOP candidates target Romney, each other, in spirited debate

Mitt Romney coolly defended his solid New Hampshire lead Saturday night in a high-stakes debate as his rivals took aim at each other as they struggled to emerge as Romney's main challenger. | 01/07/12 23:19:45 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman

Gingrich, Santorum accused of racially insensitive remarks

Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are fending off accusations that they made racially tinged remarks about African-Americans and public assistance. | 01/06/12 18:29:00 By - William Douglas

Santorum will be in the spotlight at Saturday night's debate

Republican presidential candidates face off for their first debate in three weeks on Saturday night, a high-stakes showdown as Mitt Romney hints that he's poised to run away with the nomination and Rick Santorum grabs the spotlight for the first time in the battle to be the main anti-Romney. | 01/06/12 17:55:00 By - Steven Thomma, David Lightman and William Douglas

Independents may hold key to New Hampshire primary

The outcome of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary probably depends on this state's historically flinty, unpredictable independent voters. About 40 percent of the state's registered voters are formally unaffiliated with any political party, and they can vote in the GOP primary. | 01/06/12 16:22:17 By - David Lightman

Rick Santorum's presidential ambition is rooted in his faith

For former Sen. Rick Santorum, it's always been about faith. Deep religious faith fuels Santorum's conservative politics. It's what propelled him into becoming one of Congress' leading opponents of abortion, same-sex marriage and wrongdoing by fellow lawmakers, regardless of party affiliation. | 12/13/11 14:35:00 By - William Douglas

Romney's changes of heart worry conservatives

Mitt Romney: flexible pragmatist, or a politically soulless flip-flopper too eager to please? Add this shifting nuance on health to position changes or tweaks on abortion, the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays, and a host of other issues, and Romney has a reputation as someone without a strong political core, an opportunistic flip-flopper who adjusts his stands as majority opinion shifts. | 12/07/11 03:00:35 By - David Lightman

Santorum's S.C. campaign gets boost from BlueCross BlueShield execs

Rick Santorum’s S.C. base — at least financially speaking — is BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, located in northeast Richland County. The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania had raised $80,080 from S.C. donors as of the end of 2011’s third quarter. More than a quarter of that money, $21,000, came from top executives of BlueCross. | 01/06/12 07:35:20 By - Gina Smith

Analysis: Romney tax plan would most benefit wealthy

Mitt Romney's tax plan would cut taxes for fewer than half of American households, with the wealthy getting most of the benefits, according to an independent analysis released Thursday. | 01/05/12 19:22:00 By - Lesley Clark

Santorum faces a GOP crowd in New Hampshire different from Iowa

He surged out of nowhere in Iowa. Now, can Rick Santorum do the same in New Hampshire? How he navigates here will determine whether he's another Pat Buchanan, who scored an impressive populist protest vote against an establishment choice here in both the 1992 and 1996 GOP primaries, or another Mike Huckabee, who in 2008 watched his Iowa success stopped cold here. | 01/05/12 18:15:00 By - Steven Thomma and William Douglas

It's Romney vs. the field in New Hampshire, and he's way ahead

New Hampshire's Republican presidential primary campaign evolved Thursday into two different races: Mitt Romney trying to expand his huge lead, while everyone else scrambled to become the chief alternative to him. | 01/05/12 17:38:00 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

GOP candidates get ready to rumble in South Carolina

The brawl, known as the S.C. Republican presidential primary, is on. After he nearly bowed out of the race Tuesday, Rick Perry’s new plan is to claw his way back to the top of the pack in the Palmetto State, regaining his mantle as the anti-Mitt Romney candidate for conservative Republicans. | 01/05/12 07:27:43 By - Gina Smith

Romney could face test from Santorum in South Carolina

Rick Santorum has lagged near the bottom of the pack in South Carolina, mired below 3 percent in most polls. That's despite the fact that he's spent more time in the state than any of his Republican presidential rivals. | 01/05/12 07:19:38 By - Jim Morrill and Tim Funk

Bachmann's future still undecided

As the reality of Michele Bachmann’s failed presidential bid set in on Wednesday, the Minnesota Republican gave no indication of what’s in store for her future — or whether she even plans to stay in politics. | 01/04/12 19:34:25 By - Kevin Diaz and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger

As GOP race's pace quickens, Romney's on top — and the target

The Republican presidential campaign shifted to New Hampshire on Wednesday with one key question hanging over it: Can Mitt Romney deliver the landslide win his polls and organization suggest is within reach, or will he fall to sharp new attacks and the state's history of turning on the winner of Iowa's caucuses? | 01/04/12 18:36:00 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman

Michele Bachmann gives up the race after finishing sixth in Iowa

Wasting little time to assess her disappointing loss in the Iowa caucuses, Rep. Michele Bachmann quickly closed the door Wednesday on her hopes to win the White House. | 01/04/12 16:36:00 By - David Goldstein

Santorum is peaking in Iowa, but then what?

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has gone from afterthought to X Factor in the Republican presidential field during the closing days before Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. | 12/31/11 14:57:00 By - William Douglas and David Lightman

GOP’s Iowa race tightens poll finds as contenders urge support

Republican presidential candidates spent the last day of 2011 Saturday making their closing arguments to curious, often uncertain voters as the race remained fluid. | 12/31/11 17:19:00 By - David Lightman, Steven Thomma and William Douglas

Newt says Obama seeks to steal elections with ID ruling

Republican presidential hopefuls spent Saturday crisscrossing Iowa Saturday ahead of Tuesday's caucuses, but some candidates had one eye towards South Carolina's Jan. 21 primary and an issue that might help them gain traction in the Palmetto State. | 12/31/11 17:32:00 By - William Douglas

As Iowa heads to caucuses, undecideds will make their mark

Shifts happen in the 48 hours before Iowa caucuses, and Sunday it was clear the outcome of the nation's first presidential voting Tuesday depends on a huge army of undecided, wavering Iowa caucus-goers. | 01/01/12 14:21:00 By - David Lightman

With Iowa's voting, GOP likely to plot future path

Republicans enter a new election year Tuesday debating more than just who should be their nominee for president against Barack Obama. They're engaged in a struggle over how radically they can or should change the country's course. | 01/02/12 16:17:00 By - Steven Thomma

Iowa Republicans poised to remake campaign for White House

Iowa Republicans will gather Tuesday night at fire stations, schools, libraries and community centers across the state to vote their choice for the GOP nomination to oppose President Barack Obama this fall. Yet even at this last minute, the outcome remains highly unpredictable. | 01/02/12 17:09:00 By - David Lightman and William Douglas

Texas Gov. Rick Perry decides to stay in presidential race

After sending signals that he might drop out of the Republican presidential contest after a poor showing in Iowa, Texas Gov. Rick Perry “reassessed” his political future during a morning run Wednesday and vowed to plunge into the next round of primaries, in New Hampshire and South Carolina. | 01/04/12 13:39:14 By - Dave Montgomery and Maria Recio

Romney played Iowa smartly, but challenges loom down the line

The Iowa caucus campaign exposed potentially troublesome obstacles that the former Massachusetts governor will face in the weeks ahead. He failed to ignite much passion among voters, and still must fight for the trust of the Republican Party's powerful conservative base. | 01/03/12 21:33:00 By - David Lightman

Romney edges Santorum for Iowa win — by eight votes

After vote totals for two out of more than 1700 precincts were delayed for hours, the Iowa Republican Party chairman reported at 1:35 a.m. CST that Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, had edged Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, by 8 votes out of over 60,000 cast for the pair. Each candidate pulled 25 percent of the total vote. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was a close third, with 21 percent. | 01/03/12 21:02:00 By - Steven Thomma

Texas Gov. Perry's poor Iowa showing leaves him reassessing campaign

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is reassessing whether to continue his presidential campaign after sustaining the first defeat in a 27-year political career Tuesday night. Rather than moving on to South Carolina today as scheduled, Perry told supporters at his headquarters hotel that he would return to Texas to assess the results of the caucuses and determine "whether there is a path forward for myself in this race." | 01/03/12 19:10:00 By - Dave Montgomery

Move over GOP; Obama heads Wednesday to swing state Ohio

With the first contest of the Republican presidential primary over, President Barack Obama will hustle to get back into the spotlight, jetting to battleground state Ohio on Wednesday to renew his push for boosting the economy. | 01/03/12 18:26:00 By - Lesley Clark

Santorum will ride momentum from Iowa into New Hampshire, eyeing S.C., too

Emboldened by his strong Iowa finish, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is headed to New Hampshire — the heart of Mitt Romney country — instead of making a beeline with fellow social conservatives Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann to more politically hospitable South Carolina. | 01/03/12 18:05:00 By - William Douglas

Perry aims for an Iowa Caucus surprise

Fortified by legions of reinforcements from Texas, Gov. Rick Perry spent Monday, the final day before the Iowa caucuses, seeking to build a last-minute surge and vowing to prove the pollsters wrong. | 01/03/12 07:41:35 By - Dave Montgomery

Gay rights in N.C. face scrutiny as state hosts DNC

As Charlotte and North Carolina take the national spotlight for this year's Democratic National Convention, one area will get particular scrutiny: the region's climate for gays and lesbians. | 01/03/12 07:28:12 By - Celeste Smith

Santorum savors boost from poll, promises to compete everywhere

A surging Rick Santorum said Sunday he feels "very good" about his chances for a top tier finish in Iowa's Republican caucuses, even as he found himself facing criticisms and questions attached to his last minute rise from obscurity. | 01/02/12 21:53:59 By - Steven Thomma, William Douglas and David Lightman

Gov. Perry and Rep. Paul — both Texans, but hardly twins

They both reside in the Lone Star State, but in many other respects, Rick Perry and Ron Paul are as different as Paint Creek and Pittsburgh.

For the two Texans in the 2012 presidential race, the path toward Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses and beyond has been marked by shifting fortunes. | 01/01/12 13:38:30 By - Dave Montgomery

Iowa Republicans closing in on presidential choice as caucuses near

With Iowa Republicans starting to make up their minds — and shuffling the deck of candidates — the 2012 presidential contest turned emotional Friday, just days before the state's caucuses kick off the voting for a GOP nominee. | 12/30/11 17:49:33 By - Steven Thomma, David Lightman and William Douglas

Romney gambles on finishing strong in Iowa

Mitt Romney's mathematical path to success in Tuesday's Iowa Republican caucuses seems simple: Just hold onto the 25 percent of the vote he got four years ago. | 12/30/11 17:35:41 By - David Lightman

GOP candidates split into 2 tiers in Iowa

The volatile struggle for votes in next Tuesday's Iowa Republican presidential caucuses featured two different fights Thursday. Despite all the news media attention to the latest polls, the outcome remains difficult to predict, since many voters are still candidate-shopping. | 12/29/11 18:31:00 By - David Lightman, William Douglas and Steven Thomma

Ron Paul's rivals give him a free pass in Iowa ads

He could easily win the Iowa precinct caucuses next Tuesday, which kick off the voting for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Yet Ron Paul is largely getting a free pass from his rivals and their supporters, the only top-tier candidate who's escaping the torrent of high-profile attack ads flooding the state's airwaves. | 12/28/11 18:28:10 By - Steven Thomma

Elizabeth Dole endorses Mitt Romney

Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has endorsed Mitt Romney in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. | 12/28/11 11:44:58 By -

Democrats bet Obama-bashing in Iowa will backfire on GOP

In Iowa, the daily bombardment of criticism aimed at President Barack Obama seems to have no end. But if Iowa Democrats are discouraged, they hide it well. In interview after interview, they insist that the pounding from Republicans is backfiring and will motivate a Democratic base that’s been dormant for months. | 12/28/11 07:05:52 By - Steve Kraske

GOP hopefuls return to Iowa for frantic final week

With Christmas out of the way, the battle for the Republican presidential nomination resumed with gusto Tuesday, a still-wide-open race meaning a frantic dash in the final week before Iowa kicks off the voting Jan. 3. | 12/27/11 18:10:49 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman

GOP presidential candidates count on good 'ground game' for South Carolina primary

With less than a month before South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary, the presidential candidates are jumpstarting their Palmetto State organizations, opening offices, hiring workers and reaching out to potential backers. | 12/27/11 07:12:54 By - Gina Smith

Justice Department objects to South Carolina's voter ID law

The U.S. Justice Department has rejected South Carolina's controversial voter ID law. South Carolina officials can appeal the ruling, but until then the law would be "legally unenforceable," according to a letter sent to the S.C. Attorney General’s office. | 12/23/11 17:45:53 By - Adam Beam

What will it take to win South Carolina's GOP primary?

One month from today, South Carolina voters will pick their Republican presidential choice out of a crowded field. And, if history holds, they will also pick the Republican presidential candidate. Since 1980, the state’s GOP voters have successfully chosen the eventual nominee. | 12/21/11 07:34:02 By - Adam Beam

Romney, Huntsman, Perry all kin to past presidents

Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry already sport the presidential look: perfectly coiffed hair, a touch of gray, a firm jaw line. Now there's word that it may be inherited. | 12/20/11 00:01:00 By - Lesley Clark

Rick Perry draws Texas retirement plus his salary

Gov. Rick Perry is double-dipping, drawing retirement income from the state in addition to his salary as governor since late January, newly released records show. | 12/19/11 07:38:58 By - Maria Recio

Gingrich rails at courts, suggests ignoring rulings

Picking up where he left off in last Thursday's Republican presidential debate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Saturday continued to rail against the federal judicial system, accusing it of overstepping its constitutional role and arguing that the president and Congress can ignore court decisions. | 12/17/11 15:38:38 By - William Douglas

Iowa GOP race is wide open, and anyone might win

Hold on to your hats. The Republican presidential campaign in Iowa heads into its final two weeks with a wild race that's wide open. Almost anyone could win. | 12/16/11 18:14:25 By - Steven Thomma

S.C. Gov. Haley endorses Romney

Gov. Nikki Haley has endorsed Mitt Romney for president and will campaign with him in South Carolina this weekend.

“He is a conservative businessman who has spent his life working in the economy, and he understands exactly how jobs are created,” Haley said in a news release from Romney’s campaign. | 12/16/11 10:10:34 By - Adam Beam and Gina Smith

Gingrich comes under attack in last debate before Iowa caucuses

Republican presidential candidates tried mightily Thursday to strengthen their stature as the conservative best poised to beat President Barack Obama as they engaged in their final debate before voting for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination starts in less than three weeks. | 12/15/11 22:13:43 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman

Perry hopes for strong showing in GOP's final pre-Iowa debate

Republican presidential contenders tonight will hold their final debate before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. For Rick Perry, that may be good news since it means he won't have to participate in any more this year. | 12/15/11 07:44:44 By - Dave Montgomery

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson mulls presidential run as Libertarian

Gary Johnson says he isn’t planning to leave the Republican Party. "The party left me," said Johnson, a little-known former New Mexico governor and Republican presidential candidate. "The Republican Party hung me out to dry." | 12/15/11 07:00:24 By - Marc Caputo

Michele Bachmann is a conservative with 'a titanium spine'

Michele Bachmann was an "accidental politician," and it all began on April Fool's Day. On April 1, 2000, the 2012 Republican White House hopeful — then a "middle American mom," as she wrote in her recent memoir — made a fateful, spur-of-the moment decision that changed her life. | 12/14/11 15:48:46 By - David Goldstein

Gingrich's N.C. campaign team takes shape

Newt Gingrich's campaign became the first in North Carolina to announce a leadership team, another sign that the state's May 8 primary may matter in the contests for the Republican presidential nomination. | 12/14/11 14:07:29 By - John Frank

Splintered S.C. tea party may not be a factor in GOP race

Just a year after helping sweep in a new Palmetto State governor and four new congressmen, the Tea Party may well be a non-factor in picking the winner of the Republican Party’s South Carolina presidential primary. | 12/14/11 07:31:37 By - Gina Smith

North Carolina could play big role in GOP race, Sen. Burr says

While Republican presidential contenders traipse daily across Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, some North Carolinians are feeling left out. The first GOP primary is only three weeks away, but North Carolinians won't get to weigh in on the nominee until four months later. | 12/14/11 07:14:05 By - Franco Ordoñez

Iowa voters are deluged with campaign ads, some nasty

People in Iowa are getting to see a side of the Republican presidential campaign not nearly as visible to the rest of the country. Candidates and their allies are starting to air TV ads in Iowa as the state enters the final weeks before precinct caucuses on Jan. 3, which will kick off the voting for a 2012 Republican presidential nominee. Some ads match what the rest of the country sees in nationally televised debates; some are more blunt and critical. | 12/13/11 16:42:19 By - Steven Thomma

Huntsman seeks GOP presidential nomination his way

At 19, Jon Huntsman arrived in Taiwan for a two-year gig as a missionary for the Mormon church. He didn't receive a warm reception. The Taiwanese government was furious at the United States for re-establishing diplomatic ties with China, and the people whom Huntsman was there to recruit to his faith weren't much happier. | 12/12/11 15:40:04 By - Lesley Clark

Ron Paul is striking chords with Iowa GOP voters

Iowa Republican voters are taking Ron Paul very seriously.

So seriously, in fact, that few would be surprised if he finished a strong second — or even won — the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. | 12/12/11 15:21:24 By - David Lightman

GOP candidates go after Perry's supporters in Texas

The national spotlight is focused for now on Iowa and New Hampshire, where voters will have the first say in choosing a Republican presidential candidate. But, Republican front-runners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are holding fundraisers or meeting with prominent, wealthy Texans who have thrown their support to Gov. Rick Perry. | 12/12/11 07:22:33 By - Anna M. Tinsley

Gingrich hires former Rubio campaign chief Jose Mallea

Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich has hired U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s former campaign chief be his Florida director. | 12/12/11 06:54:43 By - Marc Caputo

Debate further boosts Gingrich's standing

Newt Gingrich is still standing. Three weeks before Iowa Republicans cast the first votes for a 2012 presidential nominee, the man who leads in Iowa and other early voting states such as South Carolina and Florida has emerged seemingly unscathed from a barrage of criticism from rivals in a fiery debate in Iowa. | 12/12/11 06:22:31 By - Steven Thomma

GOP rivals gang up on Newt Gingrich in Iowa debate

Republicans threw everything they could at Newt Gingrich in a fiery debate Saturday night, increasingly desperate to stop his momentum toward the 2012 presidential nomination in the final weeks before voting starts in less than 4 weeks. | 12/10/11 23:06:42 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman

Romney faces uphill climb in wooing Iowa voters

Mitt Romney faces daunting challenges in this, the first state to vote for the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. Foremost is the sudden widespread support for Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives. Romney's campaign is taking a good guy-bad guy approach, leaving attacks on Gingrich to surrogates while the candidate stays above the fray. | 12/09/11 17:06:35 By - David Lightman

Two debates in the next week may be final frame for Iowa GOP voters

With Newt Gingrich virtually wearing a big target on his back, he and his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination square off Saturday night in the first of two debates in Iowa that could prove pivotal to the contest. | 12/08/11 17:18:17 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

Rick Perry, son of west Texas, usually wins what he wants

In the late 1970s, as he approached his 27th birthday, Rick Perry ended a globe-trotting life as an Air Force pilot and headed home to help work the family farm in a stretch of west Texas sometimes called the "Big Empty." | 12/08/11 13:18:38 By - Dave Montgomery

When Gingrich held power, his GOP lieutenants tried to topple him

As former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trumpets his leadership skills in his quest for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, a different picture of his stewardship emerges from some GOP lawmakers who served with him during a failed 1997 coup attempt against the controversial speaker. | 12/08/11 12:19:54 By - William Douglas

Romney camp launches attack on surging Gingrich

With his carefully organized campaign suddenly facing a serious threat from Newt Gingrich, on Thursday Mitt Romney launched a strong new offensive aimed at toppling the new Iowa front-runner by recalling Gingrich's controversial past. | 12/08/11 10:18:04 By - David Lightman

Gingrich is soaring, but Iowa race remains highly volatile

Less than a month before the nation's first 2012 Republican presidential voting in Iowa, Newt Gingrich is way ahead in polls, but his lead appears fragile, and the race remains as volatile as it's been all year. | 12/08/11 07:59:31 By - David Lightman

Ron Paul: National town crier for an exotic mix of views

Rep. Ron Paul remembers the day he was transformed from a mild-mannered physician into the feisty political Nostradamus of the Republican Party. It was the evening of Aug.15, 1971. Then-President Richard Nixon announced that he was taking the United States off the gold standard, which had anchored the dollar based on a fixed amount of the precious metal. | 12/08/11 07:59:19 By - William Douglas

Stephen Colbert sought to buy naming rights for Jan. 21 primary in South Carolina

Political satirist and comedian Stephen Colbert met with S.C. Republican Party officials and sought to buy the naming rights for the state’s Jan. 21 GOP presidential primary. | 12/08/11 06:24:37 By - Gina Smith

Perry ad in Iowa accuses Obama of 'war on religion'

With Texas Gov. Rick Perry struggling to regain traction four weeks before the Iowa caucuses, his presidential campaign is running television ads attacking the Obama administration on gay rights instead of the economy, which tops even socially conservative voters' list of concerns. | 12/07/11 19:43:29 By - Curtis Tate

GOP hopefuls bash Obama on relations with Israel

Courting Jewish voters, Republican presidential candidates tore into President Barack Obama's Middle East policies Wednesday, accusing him of not coming down hard enough on Iran's nuclear aspirations and endangering Israel, a longtime U.S. ally. | 12/07/11 18:58:37 By - Lesley Clark and Maria Recio

Gingrich leads on S.C. but most think Obama will be re-elected

Newt Gingrich’s baggage doesn’t seem to be hurting him with likely voters in South Carolina’s Republican Party primary. The Winthrop University poll, released Tuesday, shows the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has zoomed to the top of the GOP field here among likely Republican primary voters. | 12/07/11 13:30:53 By - Wayne Washington

In lofty speech, Obama appeals for a new commitment to a fair America

President Barack Obama cast the national debate and developing 2012 presidential campaign Tuesday as a battle between two visions of the economy, government and society. “The free market is the greatest force for economic progress in human history. It’s led to a prosperity and standard of living unmatched by the rest of the world,” Obama told an audience of about 1,200 in a high school gym in Osawatome, Kansas. | 12/06/11 19:43:56 By - Steven Thomma

Gingrich takes big lead in S.C. polls

Newt Gingrich is the new anti-Romney, soaring past the former Massachusetts governor and perennial presidential front-runner by 17 percentage points in a new poll of likely S.C. Republican primary voters | 12/06/11 07:28:59 By - Adam Beam

Newt Gingrich — a portrait of a complicated politician

Just who is Newt Gingrich anyway? As he seeks the Republican presidential nomination, even Gingrich concedes that choice could be a difficult call for voters, as his life — both political and personal — has been a rollercoaster ride of soaring highs and messy lows. | 12/05/11 15:34:03 By - William Douglas

ANALYSIS: Political lessons from Herman Cain's campaign

Herman Cain’s campaign is gone, but the political takeaways live on: You must inspire to catch fire. Cain gave Republicans something they hadn’t heard from the other presidential candidates: an inspiring message. Cain gave them a reason to vote for someone, rather than just against someone. And he has a sense of humor. Mitt Romney, who stands to see opponent Newt Gingrich grow stronger from Cain’s implosion, should take note. | 12/05/11 07:17:15 By - Marc Caputo

Cain ends embattled campaign, saying he's 'at peace'

His popularity sinking and his credibility under attack, Herman Cain suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Saturday in a defiant, unapologetic blaze of glory. | 12/03/11 16:57:15 By - David Goldstein

Romney steps up campaign in Iowa as Gingrich soars

Mitt Romney ramped up his campaign Thursday in Iowa — the first state to vote, on Jan. 3, in the 2012 Republican presidential campaign — a strategy that may be necessary now that Newt Gingrich poses a serious threat to Romney's White House bid. | 12/01/11 18:18:58 By - David Lightman

Gingrich tops polls in Florida

One-time poll cellar dweller Newt Gingrich is the new star on Florida’s political stage. But unlike with other presidential frontrunners, Gingrich’s support looks strong, with 41 to 47 percent of voters favoring the former House speaker, according to surveys released by InsiderAdvantage and Public Policy Polling, respectively. | 12/01/11 07:04:10 By - Marc Caputo

Poll: Californians unsure on Obama but would pick him over GOP contenders

Voters in deep blue California aren't so sure they want to send President Barack Obama back to the White House in 2012, but they still prefer the Democratic incumbent over the GOP alternatives by double-digit margins. | 12/01/11 06:54:42 By - Torey Van Oot

Poll: Gingrich new S.C. leader

The revolving carousel of Republican presidential leaders in South Carolina has taken another turn; this time, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is leading in the Palmetto State. | 11/30/11 18:34:04 By -

S.C. operative: No regrets about abandoning Gingrich

Did former South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson switch horses too early a few months ago when he abandoned then-floundering Newt Gingrich to become chief of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's campaign in the state's critical, first-in-the-South presidential primary? Dawson, an influential pol who fell just short of becoming national Republican chairman nearly three years ago, doesn't think so. | 11/29/11 07:39:56 By - James Rosen

Mitt Romney picks up key endorsements in Florida

Mitt Romney will pick up the ultimate Cuban-American endorsement trifecta Tuesday in South Florida: The support of U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, and his brother, former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart. | 11/29/11 06:52:32 By - Marc Caputo

GOP rivals go for laughs as the primaries approach

After Texas Gov. Rick Perry experienced a brain freeze before a national audience, his first post-disaster stop was the “Late Show with David Letterman.” And last week, long-shot candidate Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor, poked fun at his single-digit poll ratings on “Saturday Night Live.” | 11/28/11 07:36:59 By - Gina Smith

Gingrich tops poll as he heads to S.C.

Setting his sights on a victory in South Carolina's pivotal, first-in-the-South primary, new Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich will campaign in the state today through Wednesday. | 11/28/11 07:18:59 By - Tim Funk

Bachmann’s new book details the making of a conservative

The book traces the arc of Bachmann’s conservative world view, grounded as it is in an idyllic Iowa childhood and a traditional morality that grew out of sync with the changing social mores and the political tumult of the 1960s and '70s. | 11/23/11 17:11:00 By - Kevin Diaz

GOP presidential candidates debate liberty vs. security in age of terrorism

The Republican presidential candidates grappled Tuesday with how to balance civil liberties and security, from the war on terrorism at home and abroad to check-in lines at airports. | 11/22/11 21:37:36 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

Will Rick Perry's campaign rebound in Iowa?

Just a few minutes earlier, he was standing in front of plant workers in eastern Iowa, vowing to shake up Washington by creating a part-time Congress, ending life-time appointments for federal judges and shuttering dysfunctional agencies. Now, speech concluded, Gov. Rick Perry is seated on the edge of a platform on the factory floor, scrolling through his smart phone to show a 5-year-old Izzie Insisiengmay photos of the Perry family dogs. | 11/21/11 07:42:44 By - Dave Montgomery

Is Rick Perry's rough ride embarrassing Texas?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, now at single-digit lows in polls after his high-flying start on the presidential campaign trail, has performed so badly on the national stage that there's talk back home _especially from Democrats — that he's embarrassing Texas. | 11/17/11 17:49:04 By - Maria Recio

Cain brings struggling campaign to South Florida

Returning to the state that made him a rising star seven weeks ago, Herman Cain stumps this morning in South Florida as a different candidate, nagged by questions about his foreign-policy expertise and his handling of sexual-harassment allegations. | 11/16/11 07:00:33 By - Marc Caputo

Despite auto bailouts Obama's no cinch to win Michigan next year

All over suburban Detroit, where people still feel the pain of auto industry turmoil, the political debate for 2012 proceeds like this: On paper, Obama should have an easy time here. But Obama's fate is hard to assess. | 11/15/11 18:46:58 By - David Lightman

Poll: Gingrich scores best vs. Obama among voters today

Newt Gingrich is the strongest Republican candidate when matched head to head against Democratic President Barack Obama, according to a McClatchy-Marist Poll released Tuesday. | 11/15/11 18:45:04 By - Steven Thomma

Perry would cut salaries for the U.S. Congress

Hoping that his infamous "oops moment" is old news, Gov. Rick Perry returned to Iowa on Monday with plans to unveil a sweeping federal consolidation that he said would "uproot all three branches of government." | 11/15/11 15:18:06 By - Dave Montgomery

Perry's proposes to 'uproot all three branches of government'

Hoping that his infamous "oops moment" is old news, Gov. Rick Perry returned to Iowa on Monday with plans to unveil a sweeping federal consolidation that he said would "uproot all three branches of government." Perry said he would shutter wasteful federal agencies, including the one he famously failed to remember in a debate last week. | 11/15/11 07:17:20 By - Dave Montgomery

Bachmann heads for South Carolina

Emerging from a downtown office building this week after a seminal speech on conservative values, Rep. Michele Bachmann stepped into one of her campaign’s newest forms of conveyance, a plain red extended-cab pickup truck. | 11/14/11 19:28:01 By - Kevin Diaz

As Perry's poll numbers shrink, so does market for his books

A much-hyped wave of books on Gov. Rick Perry has shrunk to a trickle. In light of the presidential candidate's plummeting poll numbers and cringe-inducing gaffe at Wednesday's debate, the market for Perry books appears to be closing fast with at least one planned work already shelved. | 11/14/11 07:30:46 By - Aman Batheja

Poll: Romney leads, Gingrich surges, Cain sinks

The Republican presidential race is being shaken up again, with Mitt Romney retaking the lead, Newt Gingrich surging into second place, and Herman Cain dropping to third place, according to a new McClatchy-Marist nationwide poll released Friday. | 11/11/11 10:26:08 By - Steven Thomma

Florida GOP voters: Don't cut Medicare, Social Security

Florida Republican voters have a clear feeling about cuts to Medicare and Social Security: Don’t do it, according to a new poll by the AARP. By wide margins, the survey shows that Republicans of all kinds — whether they’re Hispanic, moderates or in the tea party — would rather fix the nation’s budget by withdrawing from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, eliminating foreign aid or eliminating so-called tax loopholes. | 11/11/11 07:07:53 By - Marc Caputo

GOP voters haven't picked yet, but it's already Obama vs. Romney

A year before the presidential election, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney already are slugging away at each other day after day, as if they're already their parties' nominees. | 11/10/11 16:09:48 By - David Lightman

Perry's gaffes during GOP debate could devastate 2012 presidential bid

Gov. Rick Perry and his campaign went into damage-control mode Thursday as Perry vowed to put an epic debate gaffe behind him and return to his core message of job creation and limited government. Making the rounds on the morning shows, the one-time frontrunner for the Republican nomination dismissed speculation that his brain freeze in Wednesday's Republican debate would drive him out of the race. | 11/10/11 07:36:02 By - Dave Montgomery and Aman Batheja

Poll: No clear GOP favorite in S.C.

Republican presidential candidates have swooped through South Carolina for months now, trying their best to woo voters who will go to the polls in the state’s first-in-the-South primary in January. So far, however, that wooing hasn’t stuck. | 11/10/11 07:31:08 By - Wayne Washington

Who's the next hot GOP candidate? Maybe it's Gingrich

Newt Gingrich may be about to get his moment. Dismissed months ago as a 1990s has-been who ran up big campaign bills, took time off for an exotic vacation and watched his campaign staff quit in droves, the 68-year-old Gingrich is grabbing a second look from Republicans in the contest for the party's 2012 presidential nomination. | 11/09/11 17:54:00 By - Steven Thomma

GOP presidential candidates say no bailouts for Europe, autos, banks

Republican presidential candidates drew a bright line against government help for the private economy Wednesday night, whether it’s to bail out the U.S. auto industry at home or a debt crisis in Italy that could threaten the world economy. | 11/09/11 21:29:09 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

Romney's plan would change Medicare fundamentally

Mitt Romney's plan to overhaul Medicare follows a familiar Republican prescription: Use the power of the marketplace to bring down costs and improve care. Yet such a move would change the nature of the popular program fundamentally, and it treads close to a House of Representatives Republican proposal that sparked controversy earlier this year. | 11/09/11 16:23:58 By - Mary Agnes Carey and Marilyn Werber Serafini

Perry tries to reverse slide in national polls

With less than two months before the first contest in the 2012 presidential race, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is still struggling to recapture the momentum that briefly propelled him to the top spot for the Republican nomination, according to two new national polls this week. | 11/09/11 12:12:47 By - Dave Montgomery

Religion and government must not mix in America, experts say

The separation of church and state in American public life is essential to ensure that U.S. citizens retain their civil liberties and that the nation retains its exceptionalism in the world, a group of experts told a forum Tuesday at the National Press Club. | 11/08/11 19:54:07 By - Shahid Ali Panhwer and Maha Mussadaq

Cain insists he's 'never acted inappropriately with anyone, period'

Striving to save his presidential campaign, Herman Cain on Tuesday flatly denied allegations that he's sexually harassed and groped women, defiantly declaring that he will not be driven from the race or denied his chance to be president. | 11/08/11 19:46:20 By - Steven Thomma

New dynamics will roil GOP debate in Michigan

Republican presidential candidates will debate Wednesday night for the first time since Herman Cain became controversial, Rick Perry unveiled his optional flat-tax plan and Mitt Romney explained in detail how he'd reduce budget deficits. | 11/08/11 16:04:05 By - David Lightman

S.C. Sen. DeMint won't endorse a GOP primary candidate

The most sought-after endorsement in S.C. Republican politics isn't coming. U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint says he will not endorse a candidate in the GOP presidential race, leading some to wonder if DeMint, who has played the role of a conservative kingmaker, is noncommittal about his party’s presidential candidates. | 11/08/11 07:20:32 By - Gina Smith and James Rosen

4th woman alleges - publicly - that Cain harassed her

A Chicago woman accused Herman Cain on Monday of sexual aggression in July 1997 after she asked for his help in getting a job. Sharon Bialek, who'd worked at a National Restaurant Association affiliate when Cain was its chief executive, offered a graphic account at a New York news conference of her encounter with Cain. | 11/07/11 19:03:04 By - David Goldstein

Obama camp expects a close - but successful - re-election

A year before he faces the voters, President Barack Obama isn't waiting for the Republicans to pick their candidate before he starts campaigning. His sprawling headquarters in Chicago bustles with activity as a horde of twentysomethings work on building a state-by-state machine they hope will carry him to victory. | 11/07/11 17:23:26 By - Steven Thomma

Romney's energy plan promotes fossil fuels, dismisses solar, wind

Mitt Romney's energy plan is likely to endear him to the conservatives he badly needs to win the Republican presidential nomination, but it could hurt him with the moderates he'd need to win next November's election. | 11/07/11 17:23:16 By - Renee Schoof and David Lightman

In S.C., Huntsman tries to shed 'moderate' label

Jon Huntsman's S.C. advisors are pushing back on the “moderate” label that has dogged the former Utah governor in his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president. | 11/03/11 17:18:49 By - Gina Smith

Will Iowa leave face-time ritual with candidates behind?

They say in Iowa that a voter has to meet a candidate for president face to face a few times before deciding whom to support. But something may be changing in the time-honored, Norman Rockwell-esque portrait of American politics played out in the living rooms, corner stores and church basements of Iowa. | 11/03/11 16:38:40 By - Steven Thomma

Cain holds lead in S.C. poll as third harassment allegation emerges

Despite days of intense coverage about allegations of sexual harassment, presidential hopeful Herman Cain is still the top pick of likely S.C. Republican primary voters, leading former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 10 percentage points. | 11/03/11 07:29:38 By - Gina Smith

Poll: Obama and Romney tied in North Carolina

North Carolina continues to remain competitive in the presidential contest, according to the latest poll. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads President Barack Obama by a 46-45 percent margin, which is within the margin of error, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm based in Raleigh. That is reversed from the previous month, when Obama led Romney 46-45, also within the margin of error. | 11/03/11 07:25:35 By - Rob Christensen and John Frank

New Hampshire sets its primary for Jan. 10

New Hampshire will hold its presidential primary on Jan. 10, filling out the campaign calendar for the initial voting for presidential nominees next winter. New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner announced the date, waiting to the last minute to make sure his state again has the first primary. | 11/02/11 11:17:35 By - Steven Thomma

Poll: One third of Texans say Perry's campaign is hurting state's image

A strong majority of Texans believe that long-standing factors other than Gov. Perry's leadership have contributed to the state's robust economy, and about a third say that Perry's presidential campaign is hurting the state's image, according to a new poll. | 11/02/11 07:39:07 By - Dave Montgomery

Obama is working to woo North Carolina in 2012

President Barack Obama can't get enough of North Carolina and its people - or at least that's the impression he gives in a series of interviews to anchors in local television markets. | 11/02/11 07:26:51 By - Rob Christensen

Poll: With Marco Rubio as VP, Republicans could win Florida

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio could provide the juice needed for a Republican presidential candidate to win Florida, according to a new poll by Suffolk University. But the advantage dissolves if President Barack Obama adds Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to his Democratic ticket. | 11/02/11 06:58:27 By - Mary Ellen Klas

Texans credit natural resources, tax climate for state's fiscal health

Gov. Rick Perry repeatedly cites the robust Texas economy as a fundamental selling point in his presidential campaign, but many Texans attribute the state's healthy economic performance to factors other than Perry's leadership, according to a new poll released Monday. | 11/01/11 13:14:53 By - Dave Montgomery

Poll: Perry, Cain in virtual tie in Texas

One point. That's how much a poll released Monday showed Gov. Rick Perry trailing former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain -- in Texas among those who identify themselves as Republicans -- in the GOP presidential race. | 11/01/11 07:25:46 By - Anna M. Tinsley

Kentucky's Centre College to host 2012 vice presidential debate

Centre College got its second national nod on Monday when it was selected to host the only vice-presidential debate in 2012. Centre's experience in hosting the 2000 vice-presidential debate at the Norton Center for the Arts in Danville helped win the event planned for Oct. 11, 2012, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates. | 11/01/11 07:03:34 By - Linda Blackford and Greg Kocher

Perry's tax plan would be a boon for the wealthy, study says

Rick Perry's proposed optional flat tax would be a windfall for wealthier Americans, giving millionaires an average tax cut of $637,418, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Research Center released Monday. | 10/31/11 19:43:47 By - Steven Thomma

Faced with re-election, little action in Congress, Obama acts alone

Declaring that Republicans in Congress will block almost every initiative that has his name on it, President Barack Obama is going around them. | 10/31/11 19:20:57 By - Lesley Clark

Cain refutes sexual harassment allegations

Suddenly beset by allegations of sexual harassment, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain on Monday labeled the accusations a "witch hunt" and insisted that they were "totally false." | 10/31/11 18:24:55 By - David Goldstein

Politex Blog: Is Perry's viral video a Howard Dean 'scream' moment?

A spirited and giggling Gov. Rick Perry showed up to deliver a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire Friday and the video has quickly gone viral. | 10/31/11 13:14:27 By - Aman Batheja

Fla. Rep. Connie Mack jumps into Senate race

Florida Congressman Connie Mack plans to enter the Republican race for U.S. Senate, adding a big name to a contest that has lacked drama for months. | 10/27/11 06:47:20 By - Marc Caputo

GOP presidential candidates' tax plans would benefit the rich

The Republican Party is catching flat-tax fever — and setting up an epic election-year fight with Democrats over whether wealthier Americans should pay higher taxes or get tax cuts. | 10/26/11 19:30:35 By - Steven Thomma

Rick Perry outlines flat tax, Social Security proposals

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry offered a new tax plan today that would eliminate many deductions in favor of a flat 20 percent tax rate on income – simplifying the average person’s annual tax return to information that would fit on a post card. | 10/25/11 19:05:13 By - Adam Beam and Dave Montgomery

Perry campaign brings in top Bush adviser from 2000

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign announced a major reorganization Monday to bring in talent from past presidential races as he prepared to unveil a flat tax as the next proposal in his emerging economic plan. | 10/25/11 07:25:56 By - Dave Montgomery

Perry seeks a boost to numbers with S.C. visit

South Carolina was supposed to be a sure thing for Rick Perry: A Republican, Southern, evangelical governor with a big smile and an even bigger lead in the polls. Then, September and October happened. | 10/25/11 07:21:35 By - Adam Beam

More controversy between Bachmann and N.H. campaign staffers

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s former New Hampshire staffers issued a statement on Monday that accused her top campaign aides of being “rude, unprofessional, dishonest, and at times cruel.” | 10/24/11 19:51:47 By - Jeremy Herb

Romney's campaign strategy is much like Nixon's in '68

Mitt Romney's running a classic establishment campaign: Spend years stumping for others, collect big-name endorsements and create advisory teams full of high-profile players from past administrations. | 10/24/11 16:36:09 By - David Lightman

Texas 'is just a giant ATM' for 2012 presidential candidates

Texans have some mighty deep pockets for the 2012 presidential race. They have sent more than $16.2 million to presidential candidates this year, including President Barack Obama, Gov. Rick Perry and more than a half-dozen other GOP challengers ranging from Mitt Romney to Ron Paul. | 10/24/11 07:34:34 By - Anna M. Tinsley

DNC 'leaving no stone unturned' in battle for South Carolina

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, and the rest of the Democratic Party will have to turn over quite a few stones to make headway in South Carolina, which has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976 — 35 years ago. | 10/24/11 07:27:40 By - Adam Beam

Western voters size up GOP field on three big issues

Republican voters across the West have three big issues on their minds: Washington is maddeningly intrusive and distant. Illegal immigration remains an emotional, intractable issue. And the sputtering economy seems more dismal than ever. | 10/21/11 16:51:28 By - David Lightman

GOP White House candidates' Yucca stance roils other Republican leaders

Republican lawmakers from South Carolina and Washington state, which hold tons of nuclear waste, are none too pleased that leading candidates for the GOP presidential nomination are backing President Barack Obama's decision to shutter a central dump designed to store their waste. | 10/20/11 17:40:48 By - James Rosen

Rick Perry's wife takes a shaky step into the political limelight

After 10 years as a mostly low-key first lady of Texas, Anita Perry is suddenly making a splash on the presidential campaign trail. In South Carolina last week, Anita Perry, 59, stunned political observers, especially Texans who had known her for years, by complaining in very emotional terms about how hard the presidential campaign has been on them. | 10/19/11 18:04:38 By - Maria Recio

Occupy Wall Street shares roots with tea party protesters - but different goals

At first glance, the Occupy Wall Street movement and the tea party movement appear to be polar opposites. One rails against, among other things, the overarching power of wealthy banks, the other assails the federal government's overreach into businesses and people's lives. But a closer look reveals that the two movements are as much alike as they are different, despite assertions by some backers of each that such comparisons are overly simplistic. | 10/19/11 17:55:41 By - William Douglas

After eight debates, it's Romney vs. a divided field of conservatives

They've spent thousands of hours seeking the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Giving speeches. Shaking hands. Raising money. But perhaps nothing has mattered as much as the roughly 15 hours the GOP candidates have spent onstage debating each other. | 10/19/11 17:48:25 By - Steven Thomma

Perry leaves them cold at Western GOP activist conference

The day after a fierce debate with his Republican presidential rivals on Wednesday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry couldn't spark much momentum among GOP insiders for his lagging presidential campaign. | 10/19/11 17:44:47 By - David Lightman

Commentary: Rick Perry gets his swagger back

Gov. Rick Perry is back in the saddle.

Zeroing in on Mitt Romney like a prairie varmint and telling Herman Cain that they'll be "bumpin' tax plans" soon, Perry rode back into the middle of the Republican presidential race Tuesday night with some of his old swagger and his saddlebags still full of cash. | 10/19/11 13:40:13 By - Bud Kennedy

Herman Cain's Kansas ties include Koch's Americans for Prosperity

Herman Cain, businessman, talk show host and now a top-tier GOP presidential candidate, isn’t a Kansas Citian. But he comes close. Last June, Cain quietly resigned from the board at Hallmark Cards Inc., one of Kansas City’s best-known companies. His long association with Hallmark, however, is just one of his Kansas City connections. | 10/19/11 07:16:44 By - Dave Helling

Restoring America claims First Amendment rights violated by Kentucky ad ban

An outside political group that has run television ads against Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has appealed an order barring the ads from running in Kentucky, saying the ruling violated the group's First Amendment right to free speech. | 10/19/11 07:03:30 By - Beth Musgrave

Sparks fly on taxes, immigration as GOP presidential candidates debate

In a clash over who should pay the bills, Republican presidential candidates hammered Herman Cain over his 9-9-9 tax plan in a fiery debate Tuesday, saying it would raise taxes on the middle class and is "not going to fly." Cain brushed aside the torrent of criticism. | 10/18/11 22:04:53 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

Obama motors into Virginia from North Carolina, touting his jobs plan

President Barack Obama on Tuesday accused his Republican critics of trying to pull one over on voters by claiming that his bid to boost jobs will raise their taxes. | 10/18/11 19:51:48 By - Lesley Clark

Cain's 9-9-9 plan would give thousands back to millionaires

Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan would give every American making more than $1 million an average tax cut of $455,000, according to a new independent analysis. | 10/18/11 18:00:52 By - Steven Thomma

Texas border fence returns to the political fray

For more than a half-century, Leonardo and Anita Ramirez could look out the back of their small frame home at the sloping landscape leading down to the Rio Grande. That changed about two years ago, when the federal government stretched a massive $6.2 million-a-mile barrier through the rural land where they have made their home since 1950. | 10/18/11 11:50:50 By - Dave Montgomery

Obama, Perry are top fundraisers in S.C.

Rick Perry is the leading Republican presidential fundraiser in South Carolina, and he did most of it on one day in August. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, actually was the top fundraiser in South Carolina, collecting $238,291. However, Obama is not expected to carry South Carolina, which last went for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976. | 10/18/11 07:30:15 By - Adam Beam

Kansans are slowly donating to GOP presidential hopefuls

Kansans appear to be taking a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to donating to Republican presidential candidates. Fewer than 260 Kansans contributed just under $130,000 total to GOP presidential campaigns during the third quarter, according to the Federal Election Commission. | 10/18/11 07:03:57 By - Rick Plumlee

2012 GOP hopefuls take their show to recession-battered Nevada

The 2012 Republican presidential campaign heads West on Tuesday, as GOP rivals will debate and aim their campaigns at wary voters worn down by one of the nation’s most enduring economic slumps. | 10/17/11 19:17:59 By - David Lightman

As rage at Wall Street rises, its moneymen shower cash on candidates

Even as protests over its political influence grow louder, Wall Street is one of the leading sources of money so far in the 2012 race for the White House. Not surprisingly, the biggest beneficiary has been Republican hopeful Mitt Romney, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign-finance watchdog group. | 10/17/11 18:19:35 By - David Goldstein

Obama starts bus trip through two swing states touting jobs plan

President Barack Obama on Monday launches a three-day bus tour across North Carolina and Virginia, championing his job creation package in two states that are critical to his reelection efforts. | 10/17/11 12:30:55 By - Lesley Clark and Tim Funk

In New Hampshire, search continues for Romney alternative

Three key facts describe the state of the Republican White House race in New Hampshire as the state prepares for the nation's first presidential primary: More than two-thirds of Republican voters still are trying to decide who to support. | 10/17/11 12:16:14 By - David Lightman

Many Hispanic voters are on fence about Obama in 2012

Manuel Santiago was out of work when Barack Obama ran for president in 2008 and the promise of a better future lured him to the polls. Today, Santiago delivers part time for Pizza Hut. Across Florida — indeed, the country — stories like Santiago’s are common. Collectively, they represent a major challenge to Obama, who won two-thirds of the Hispanic vote in 2008 but has seen his standing drop precipitously among this increasingly powerful voter bloc. | 10/17/11 06:47:28 By - Alex Leary and Patricia Mazzei

Border drug war: Is it really out of control?

Flying at an altitude of about 700 feet, the Department of Public Safety helicopter follows the meandering pathway of the Rio Grande as it cuts through rich farmland in South Texas and northern Mexico, part of Gov. Rick Perry's border-control effort. | 10/16/11 13:57:11 By - Dave Montgomery

Bachmann’s road to the White House gets rocky

Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann is finding it hard to sustain the high-flying cash haul that once propelled her to the top ranks among GOP presidential contenders. Down in the polls, rocked by verbal miscues and staff shakeups, Bachmann’s fundraising is showing signs of flat-lining in recent months, a period that saw her go from a win in Iowa’s straw poll to also-ran status in public opinion surveys. | 10/14/11 19:41:53 By - Kevin Diaz

Perry, struggling in campaign, unveils economic program

Presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry released his economic plan Friday, promising that an energy-centric program to expand offshore drilling and domestic oil and gas exploration would create 1.2 million jobs. | 10/14/11 18:18:21 By - Maria Recio

Business groups call Cain's 9-9-9 plan a job killer

Called a job killer at worst or a detail-free slogan at best, Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan is getting tepid-to-awful reviews from some of the nation’s most-influential business groups. | 10/14/11 11:34:28 By - Marc Caputo

Is Romney right on 'Obamacare?' Depends how you count

Mitt Romney is adamant: "I will press for full repeal of 'Obamacare,' which will save hundreds of billions of dollars." But the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office — whose data the campaign has cited as the source of its assertion — says that the 2010 federal health care law should cut deficits $210 billion from 2012 to 2021. | 10/13/11 19:18:08 By - David Lightman

Huntsman banks on New Hampshire, but does he have a chance?

Jon Huntsman was wowing the crowd in this tiny town, the first Republican to campaign here since Dwight Eisenhower. The former Utah governor decried the division in the country as "unhealthy" and "un-American." He vowed to get the nation's "economic house in order" and out of its "funk." | 10/13/11 19:12:56 By - Lesley Clark

Is Perry the 'most laid-back Texan since Matthew McConaughey'?

The headline in the Los Angeles Times scored Tuesday night's Republican debate this way: "Romney No. 1, Cain 9-9-9, Perry 9-1-1." The description undiplomatically reflected a consensus of reviews proclaiming that Perry failed to deliver a breakout performance in a debate in which he was upstaged by Mitt Romney and Herman Cain, whose recent surge has made him Romney's current chief rival in the Republican nomination race. But analysts also generally agreed that Perry's performance, while lackluster, was not fatal. | 10/13/11 07:32:21 By - Dave Montgomery

Cain's 9-9-9 plan: Good for the rich, bad for the poor

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's proposed 9-9-9 tax plan would shift the tax burden in the United States, raising taxes on the poor while cutting taxes for the wealthy. | 10/12/11 20:18:35 By - Steven Thomma

Cain wows New Hampshire Republicans, though doubts remain

Herman Cain, the newest star of the Republican presidential field, basked Wednesday in the cheers of New Hampshire GOP lawmakers, activists and new supporters in the political heart of the nation's first primary state. | 10/12/11 18:49:36 By - David Lightman

Commentary: Rick Perry is no Ronald Reagan on the debate stage

Rick Perry rode into this presidential race eight weeks ago looking like Ronald Reagan. Instead, he's turned into Cosmo Kramer. Awkward and often confused, he has become less of a participant in the Republican debates than a comic sidekick doing walk-ons, shouting about how we're "sittin' on a treasure-trove of energy!" and then grinning for applause. | 10/12/11 07:35:23 By - Bud Kennedy

Herman Cain grabs lead in S.C. poll

It’s Herman Cain’s turn. The former Godfather’s Pizza chief executive has rocketed to the top of the S.C. polls in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, following in the footsteps of Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. | 10/12/11 07:30:48 By - Adam Beam

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 jobs plan at heart of GOP debate

Surging Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain came under fire for his 9-9-9 tax plan in a debate Tuesday night, as rivals sought to slow his sudden momentum into the top tier of contenders for the GOP nomination. | 10/11/11 21:26:36 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma

Candidates call on Perry to reject pastor's attack on Mormonism

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney urged Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday to "repudiate" the words and the spirit of Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress' attack on Romney's Mormon religion. | 10/11/11 19:35:59 By - Maria Recio and David Lightman

Tuesday debate in New Hampshire could be Cain's big show

Can Rick Perry rebound from a troubled September? How will Herman Cain endure his first test as a heavily-scrutinized candidate? And will Mitt Romney, debating in a state where he's a strong favorite, stay on his cool, steady course? | 10/10/11 17:34:37 By - David Lightman

For Rick Perry, New Hampshire GOP debate performance is crucial

Gov. Rick Perry has the opportunity for a political do-over this week in a critical debate that he hopes will get his sagging campaign back on track after subpar debate performances and a plunge in the polls. | 10/10/11 07:33:16 By - Dave Montgomery

Democrats assess convention city Charlotte's hotels

Democrats from as far as Hawaii and Washington state get their first look at accommodations for next year's Democratic convention today, as they take a whirlwind tour of Charlotte and its hotels. | 10/10/11 07:19:08 By - Jim Morrill

Herman Cain signs books in Rock Hill, S.C.

Usually, only fat-cat donors have to pay money to shake hands with their favorite presidential candidate. But on Sunday, nearly 200 voters from the Carolinas plunked down at least $26.75 — the cost of a book — to get a handshake, a smile and an autograph from surging GOP presidential contender Herman Cain. | 10/10/11 07:14:58 By - Tim Funk

Gingrich seeks key to winning in S.C.

Seated at the crux of a handful of tables pushed together at the Elmwood Avenue Lizard’s Thicket, Newt Gingrich listens as a group of 10 men complain about health care and Social Security. | 10/06/11 07:30:03 By - Adam Beam

Sarah Palin announces she won't run for president in 2012

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, said Wednesday that she won't run for president in 2012. She made the announcement on the Mark Levin radio show, saying her family's wishes were the main factor in her decision. | 10/05/11 18:40:14 By - Sean Cockerham and Erika Bolstad

Perry team raises more than $17 million

Gov. Rick Perry's fund-raisers garnered more than $17 million for the reporting period that ended on Friday, well above the campaign's minimum goal of $10 million. | 10/05/11 17:07:46 By - Dave Montgomery

Illinois Rep. Jackson proposes resolution critical of Perry about hunting lease slur

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., called on House Democrats on Tuesday to approve a resolution critical of Gov. Rick Perry for not having removed a racial slur from a rock at his family's hunting camp. | 10/05/11 12:27:05 By - Maria Recio

Perry's poll plunge continues as tea party support erodes

A precipitous drop in tea party support is contributing to Gov. Rick Perry's plunge in the polls, undercutting expectations that he would amass a hefty following from the conservative grassroots movement. | 10/05/11 07:22:32 By - Dave Montgomery

Herman Cain leads GOP field in N.C.

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, once the longest of long shots, is surging in polls across the country and now leads the field among N.C. Republicans. Cain's gains have come at the expense of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has fallen as much as the Atlanta businessman has climbed. | 10/05/11 07:10:31 By - Jim Morrill

Romney attacks Perry's Social Security stance in Florida

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney returned to this vote-rich retirement complex Tuesday to reassure seniors that he would "solve and save" Social Security as president and that Republican rival Texas Gov. Rick Perry would threaten its future by letting states run it. | 10/05/11 06:58:54 By - Steve Bousquet

'Boycott Univision debate,' Fla. Republicans tell RNC

Three top Florida Hispanic Republicans are calling on the national GOP and their party’s presidential candidates to boycott a proposed Univision debate amid allegations that the Spanish-language television network tried to “extort” Sen. Marco Rubio. | 10/04/11 06:57:05 By - Marc Caputo

Republicans in South Carolina move up presidential primary

S.C. Republicans will move their presidential primary to Jan. 21, five weeks earlier than originally scheduled, party officials announced this morning. | 10/03/11 13:17:57 By - Jim Morrill

Perry's handling of Texas pension, health care funds is questioned

Gov. Rick Perry is making headlines with his attacks on Social Security and Medicare, blasting their fiscal stability, likening them to Ponzi schemes and calling them a "monstrous lie to our kids." But the tables are being turned on the Republican presidential contender as scrutiny increases of his handling of Texas' public pension funds and the $1 billion health care fund for Texas teachers. | 10/03/11 07:34:19 By - Yamil Berard

Perry defends tuition law as conservatives back home revive repeal effort

As Gov. Rick Perry travels the nation defending Texas' decade-old law allowing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, some conservatives back home are mobilizing a repeal effort. | 10/03/11 06:19:31 By - Dave Montgomery

N.C. Republicans size up Perry, Bachmann

Charlotte-area Republicans got their first long looks Thursday at two of the party's leading presidential contenders. At separate events, Texas Gov. Rick Perry touted himself as a champion job creator and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota pledged to push for repeal of President Barack Obama's health care and banking reforms. | 09/30/11 07:09:20 By - Tim Funk

Perry gets heckled on immigration at Tex-Mex fundraiser

Texas Gov. Rick Perry dined with Republican donors Thursday in Charlotte, but the fundraiser at a Tex-Mex restaurant also drew protesters carrying signs that said 'Say No to Rick Perry's In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens!' and 'Rick Perry — Endorsed by Mexico.' | 09/29/11 18:56:18 By - Tim Funk and Adam Bell

Chris Christie: Closet Moderate?

Tea Party-style Republicans love Chris Christie. He's blunt and loud, conveys anger really well, and that is what is animating the grassroots of the GOP these days. | 09/29/11 13:12:57 By - Thomas Fitzgerald

Tea party groups share views but don't work together

Without question, the tea party movement has more passion and energy than any other force in American politics today. But it also has no coherent central organization or plan, raising questions about its potential impact on the 2012 elections. | 09/28/11 15:50:06 By - David Lightman