Free Republic

Since we began ranking the 10 most influential Republican leaders early last year, we've made sure to note that this Line is not to be taken as an early ranking of the 2012 field. More and more, however, it is. As the 2010 election now stands less than four months away, the 2012 jockeying has begun in earnest with potential presidential candidates seeking to out-endorse and out-stump one another. The current leaders in that game are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who are both doling out cash by the bucketful through their respective PACs. Increasingly...

Comparison between first state poll taken in Colorado (3/11), Texas (2/26), and Pennsylvania (4/09) and the second state poll taken (Colorado mid May and TX and PA today)with regards to changing political fortunes of Mitt Romney: FIRST SECOND NET COLORADO 44% (IST) 25% (2ND) -19 TEXAS 32% (1ST) 18% (3RD) -14 PENNSYLVANIA 31% (1ST) 16% (4TH) -15 In addition of the 11 state polls released by Public Policy Polling (PPP) since the beginning of May, Romney has only finished first once and second twice. In contrast Palin by virtue of the second polls in Colorado and Pennsylvania now leads in...

SUMMARY Nikki Haley was one of two conservative minority Republicans to post primary wins in South Carolina, thanks to strong backing from tea party voters. Judy Woodruff talks to two political watchers about what those wins mean for the general election. JUDY WOODRUFF: And for more on the primaries and the historical results in South Carolina, we're joined by Amy Walter, editor in chief of The Hotline, "National Journal"'s political daily, and Adolphus Belk Jr. He's a professor of political science and African-American studies at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He joins us now from Charlotte, North Carolina....

Immediately after Nikki Haley's overwhelming victory in the South Carolina Primary, we noted Team Mitt's panic over the credit Governor Palin received: It appears Mitt Romney is getting a bit nervous as a result of all the well-deserved credit Governor Palin received for helping Nikki Haley in South Carolina, both in the media and by Haley herself. In fact Romney is so nervous he feels compelled to return to South Carolina to campaign for Haley before the runoff on the 22nd. [...] This is classic Mitt Romney. When all the mud was flying and Governor Palin publicly and steadfastly stood...

Two of her big-name endorsers will be campaigning with South Carolina gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Haley in the final days before Tuesday's runoff election, CNN's Peter Hamby reports. Haley has scheduled Friday campaign appearances with Jenny Sanford, the ex-wife of current Gov. Mark Sanford, and with Mitt and Ann Romney.

Sometime around the time Barack Obama won the White House, I started wondering who would inherit the Republican Party. I have to admit I felt a little schadenfreude when George and Dick drove the GOP off a cliff, but I also named this space “Common Ground” for a reason. We need to focus on what unites us more than the things that divide us. Here’s some common ground: We need two functioning political parties to continue to meet the challenges of our times. Unlike Karl Rove, I don’t want one party to run the country. Hammering out public policy through...

The boyhood home of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is slated to be torn down as part of an effort to rejuvenate Detroit. The 5,500-square-foot home, built in 1918 and located on a .4-acre lot in the toney Palmer Woods neighborhood, has fallen into disrepair in recent years, a neighbor said. Romney and his parents, George and Lenore, lived in the home from 1941 to 1953. Shortly after moving from the home at 1860 Balmoral Drive, George Romney became chairman of American Motors Corp. and, later, governor of Michigan. Attempts to reach Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom yesterday were unsuccessful. The...

Ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R) held a fundraiser in Manhattan last week and outperformed Pres. Obama's own cash grab a day later on behalf of the DCCC, another sign of trouble brewing for Dems this cycle in all corners of the country. Romney headlined an event at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on May 12 that raised $1.5M for his Free and Strong America PAC. By contrast, Obama's appearance at the St. Regis Hotel on May 13 raked in a lesser $1.3 million for the DCCC.

Madame "Too Busy To Vote Even Though I Had A Household Staff" isn't holding up well now that the people who do vote are paying attention. Meg Whitman would be an absolute disaster for California. At best, she's Arnold Schwarzenegger in drag. At worst, she's a more masculine version of Jerry Brown.

Mitt Romney received Boos in Utah? Although Mitt was through once Obamacare passed, it changed everything.....IMHO Larry Sabato - Mitt Romney was backed almost unanimously by Utah GOP presidential primary electorates in '08. But his intro of Bennett this a.m.? Boos & no effect. WOW! Frum - Q: How much does Bennett's loss signal Romney trouble? Romney also backed TARP, also had healthcare plan.(Massachusetts)

The race to win the GOP presidential nomination – is gearing up. It, too, has a large field, but this race is a marathon that takes four years to complete. Now, the time has come to begin handicapping the 2012 primary race. This list represents a snapshot of a moment in time, with fluid odds and a constantly changing field. Keep in mind that if this list were compiled a year ago, Mark Sanford's name would have been included – and possibly John Ensign as well. But that's horse-racing. Just ask the owners of Eskendereya, the consensus favorite to win...

The political axiom is familiar today. Republicans nominate the next in line. So it's been from Richard Nixon to John McCain. The next presidential cycle could prove otherwise. The GOP establishment no longer rides herd over today's elephants. Conservative activists are both exceptionally galvanized and autonomous. It's a unique mix unseen in decades. And critically, the establishment's early favorite has an Achilles heel. This conservative milieu begs the question: is 2012 the year of the Republican dark horse? Mitt Romney should be the next Republican nominee. No less than 81 percent of Republican "insiders" say that Romney is the "most...

Mitt Romney is wading into the GOP governor's primary in Michigan, and he's backing Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.). Hoekstra faces state Attorney General Mike Cox and businessman Rick Snyder in a pitched primary battle. Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) is term-limited, and Democrats are waging their own primary battle.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney praised President Obama at a GOP fundraising dinner Wednesday in front of a crowd that might have been expecting a heavy dose of rally-the-troops conservatism. "I also think it's important for us to nod to the president when he's right," Romney said, after chiding the president's budget. "He will not always be wrong, and he's done some things I agree with."

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney would be the top pick of Republicans meeting here, to square off against US President Barack Obama, if the party primary were held now, officials said Saturday. Romney edged out Texas Congressman Ron Paul by only one vote -- 439-438 -- to win a nine-candidate race of Republican candidates, according to results of Saturday's test vote at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. Paul and Romney campaigned unsuccessfully for their party's presidential nomination in 2008. It was won, however, by Arizona Senator John McCain, who eventually lost to Democrat Obama. The...

Mitt Romney, along with some other Republicans likely to run for president in 2012, is raising money this year for congressional candidates who want to repeal President Barack Obama's sweeping health-care law. But as Mr. Romney tours to promote his new book, some people have been posing an uncomfortable question: If he opposes Mr. Obama's health-care policy, why did Mr. Romney shepherd a near-universal health-insurance system into law as governor of Massachusetts?

MITT ROMNEY’S latest position on the Massachusetts health care reform law is, finally, an honest one. “Overall, ours is a model that works,’’ the former Bay State governor and would-be presidential candidate said in Iowa.

Looking at Public Policy Polling's results, it would appear that way. PPP has surveyed GOP primary voters in 10 states since mid-February, each has found Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee to be the favored candidate. Sarah Palin placed second in six states, but did not finish first in any of them. According to PPP's latest round of polls, Mike Huckabee leads in both Alabama (with 41%, over Palin's 27% and Romney's 20%) and Missouri (with 32%, over Palin's 28% and Romney's 22%). PPP has not surveyed Republicans in Iowa or New Hampshire--the two most critical primary states--and some of the...

Mitt Romney offered an enthusiastic defense last night of the comprehensive health care law he helped create four years ago in Massachusetts, even as he pointed to crucial distinctions between it and a similar national program enacted last week by Democrats. “Overall, ours is a model that works,’’ Romney said in response to a question after a speech at Iowa State University. “We solved our problem at the state level. Like it or not, it was a state solution. Why is it that President Obama is stepping in and saying ‘one size fits all’ ’’? Obama’s signing of a federal...

From his Free and Strong America PAC this morning: Today, Mitt Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC announced a new donation program, dubbed “Prescription for Repeal,” to support conservative candidates who will repeal the worst aspects of Obamacare and restore commonsense principles to health care. The first wave of endorsements goes to three conservative leaders in key Ohio Congressional Districts. The PAC will send each of the endorsed candidates a primary election contribution of $2,500. They are: