Two GOP presidential debates in New Hampshire this weekend will most likely have very little to do with the results of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. With the latest poll showing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with a whopping 40% of support in the Granite State, the real show will be how the three remaining conservatives in the race perform.

Read more »

After finishing fifth in the Iowa Caucuses, Governor Rick Perry returned to Texas to reassess his presidential campaign. Early this morning, there was word ftom a Perry source in "First in the South" primary state South Carolina that "It looks like he is not coming this week. He has definitely canceled his plans." That certainly fueled the speculation that the Perry campaign was over. But now, a tweet from the candidate himself is strongly suggesting otherwise.

Read more »

The most highly anticipated poll of likely Republican Iowa caucus goers is out and the most important number in it is 41. The final Des Moines Register poll before Tuesday's caucuses shows moderate Mitt Romney still unable to break out of the mid-20's after 5 years of campaigning. It also shows libertarian-leaning Ron Paul is at 22% which most believe is the best he'll ever do in any state by far. And the conservative field of Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum are at a combined 45%. Why is it appropriate to combine their level of support instead of simply comparing each of their poll numbers to that of the frontrunners? Because according to the poll, 41% say they could still be persuaded to support another candidate and persuasion is a large part of the Iowa caucuses.

Read more »

Mainstream media outlets have decided that either libertarian leaning Ron Paul or moderate Mitt Romney will walk away with an Iowa Caucus win next week. But a brand new poll of likely caucus goers shows only 6 points separating first and sixth place. With 7% still undecided and a margin of error of 4.7%, this poll suggests that despite media pronouncements of a two man race that leaves the conservative candidates in the dust, an Iowa victory is still very much up for grabs.

Read more »

GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich might be abandoning his self-imposed positive-only campaign strategy. After failing to prevent others from highlighting his unflattering past by calling for an end to "negative campaigning", Mr. Gingrich has at least dipped a toe in political reality and tried to contrast one of his rival's ideas with his own. But he wasn't able to do that without taking a shot at that rival's supporters - voters he will eventually need to win over if he expects to be the GOP nominee and, eventually, the president.

Read more »