Rick Perry

Perry Vaults Into Lead For GOP Nomination In Two National Polls

Kyle Leighton | August 24, 2011, 2:40PM

Former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney has been the frontrunner in most national polls of the GOP primary over the last year, and the general punditry considered it his nomination to lose, at least at first. And while it's still early, new polling released on Wednesday shows his unchallenged time at the head of the pack may be over.

A new national Gallup poll of GOP and GOP-leaning voters shows Romney, who had more than a quarter of the total vote in Gallup's June numbers in the same poll, has fallen to 17 percent, while newly minted candidate Tex. Gov. Rick Perry surges to 29 percent and the lead. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), considered a top contender, falls to fourth with 10 percent, behind Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) at 13 percent. The rest of the field is in single digits.

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Jon Huntsman

Huntsman: "I Wouldn't Necessarily Trust Any Of My Opponents Right Now" On The Economy

Kyle Leighton | August 20, 2011, 12:21PM

Jon Huntsman

Updated: August 21, 2011, 10:30AM

Call him crazy, but former Utah Gov. and former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman is doubling down on his criticism of climate change skepticism as "not a winning formula" for the GOP in 2012, while calling out his opponents in the Republican presidential primary on their willingness to let the US default on its debt.

In an interview on ABC's This Week on Sunday, Jake Tapper asked Huntsman about his shots at Tex. Gov. Rick Perry's contention that evolution is "a theory that's out there," but not a sure thing, nor is the idea of climate change. Last week Huntsman tweeted his take, "To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."

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Polls

Poll: New Hampshire Still Romney's Turf In GOP Primary

Kyle Leighton | August 17, 2011, 3:15PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (R-MA)

With another high profile candidate in the GOP presidential primary field and the Ames Straw Poll in the books, attention is turning back to the votes that will really matter: key among them, New Hampshire. A new poll out on Wednesday shows that despite the recent shakeup in the race with the addition of Tex. Gov. Rick Perry, Granite State GOP voters are still behind former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney at the moment.

Romney is the first choice of 36 percent of GOP voters in the new survey sponsored by the New Hampshire Journal. Romney's score is twice that of the next closest candidate, Perry, who polls at 18 percent. Following Romney and Perry is Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) with 14 percent, then Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) with 10. Businessman Herman Cain and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. both register 3 percent, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 2 percent and former PA Senator Rick Santorum rounding out the field with 1.

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Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann's Big Presidential Campaign Walkbacks

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 29, 2011, 5:50AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is a firebreather. It's a significant part of her charm. But as polls show her to be a serious candidate in the Iowa caucuses -- and, therefore, the race for the nomination -- Bachmann's been up on TV rounding off some of her sharper edges.

No longer is President Obama "un-American," as Bachmann said in 2008. Nor is eliminating the minimum wage the top priority it was back in 2005. As she steps into the national spotlight -- with the help of big-time campaign strategist Ed Rollins -- Bachmann is presenting a kinder, gentler face.

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Jon Huntsman

Huntsman Kicks Off Campaign, With Lady Liberty In The Background

Eric Kleefeld | June 21, 2011, 11:10AM

Jon Huntsman

Jersey City, NJ - Former Ambassador to China and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman formally declared his candidacy for president Tuesday morning at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, a backdrop invoking patriotism and hope -- and some Reaganesque history for the audience.

Huntsman, whose Utah and international diplomacy background gave him no particular roots in New Jersey or the New York area, spoke to a fairly small crowd of between 100 and 150 people. But he did have backdrop of the Statue of Liberty, towering just across the river -- the same view as that used by Ronald Reagan for a major speech in the 1980 general election, when he formally kicked off the Fall campaign season on Labor Day.

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Michele Bachmann

Ready Or Not, GOP (And America) -- Here Comes Michele Bachmann

Eric Kleefeld | June 8, 2011, 6:45AM

Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN)

Like it or not -- and believe it or not -- Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is poised to jump into the GOP presidential primary. While she could end up being a serious contender in her own right, her entry into the race will perhaps be even more significant for the scrambling of strategies it could set off among her fellow candidates.

When Bachmann first started making noises about a possible presidential run, it seemed more like a gambit to keep attention on her pet issues. She said this past January that she could have up to 12 months to decide, seemingly putting a decision as late as just slightly before the Iowa caucuses.

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GOP Primary

The Shrinking GOP Field -- And What It Means For The 2012 Election

Benjy Sarlin | March 7, 2011, 9:13AM

Mitt Romney

Weeks away from the first debates of the Republican presidential primary and the pool of candidates is uncertain and getting smaller, leaving open the possibility of a much tinier and less predictable field than was widely expected.

It's more than just hesitance among potential contenders to form an exploratory committee or formally announce a campaign. Few, if any, observers doubt Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty will hop in the race, for example. But the two potential candidates with arguably the largest group of core supporters, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, are sending mixed signals about a possible run, with major implications for the rest of the field.

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Egypt

John Thune: I'm Glad Mubarak Left

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 11, 2011, 1:35PM

Sen. John Thune (R-SD)

TPM just caught up with Sen. John Thune ahead of his speech at CPAC, where he's another of the coy maybe 2012ers to take the stage. I asked him if Mubarak's exit in Egypt said anything about how Obama handled the crisis.

Thune declined to talk about Obama, but said he's glad Mubarak is leaving and the military's taking over.

"I think it's right he stepped down," Thune told TPM. He praised the military as "one of the most reliable intstitutions in the country."

2012 Presidential Primaries

Report: Mitch Daniels '75%' Of The Way There On Decision To Run For President

Evan McMorris-Santoro | January 6, 2011, 2:46PM

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

Welcome to the horserace before the horserace. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, one of the more prominent names in the ever-expanding Republican presidential field for 2012, is doing what all the other prominent names in the field are doing: being coy about his intentions.

Sources close to Daniels tell Real Clear Politics' Erin McPike that the term-limited governor is "about 75 percent of the way in for a presidential run."

"The last 25 percent of his decision will come during the next four months of the Indiana legislative session, when he will try to pass education reform and a budget," McPike reports.

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