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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich pulled off an upset in the South Carolina primary, beating rivals Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. |
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| With Gingrich finishing first in South Carolina's primary, a different candidate has emerged victorious in the first three contests for the Republican nomination. |
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Romney was a distant second, with Santorum and Paul third and fourth.
During his victory speech, Gingrich praised the three other major candidates in the race and said he and his rivals prove that "in America, you have a chance to make your case no matter what the elites think in New York and Washington."
The NewsHour reports that Gingrich won just about every demographic -- Tea Party voters, those who consider themselves somewhat or very conservative and voters who said the most important quality a candidate should have is the ability to beat President Obama. The former House speaker did best with voters who made up their minds in the last month and those who said the debates were an important factor in their choice.
Romney won voters with incomes of $200,000 or more, exit polls showed.
The four GOP presidential candidates left standing will meet again for a debate Monday night in Tampa.
The Democratic Candidate
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Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States. On April 4, 2011, Obama announced his re-election campaign for 2012 in a video titled "It Begins with Us" that he posted on his website. |
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The U.S. Constitution says that a president can serve two four-year terms, and that is what President Obama would like to do.
The Democratic Party will hold primaries and caucuses, but there are no real challengers to the president’s nomination. Instead, the Obama team will spend its time reaching out to independent voters, who helped President Obama win in 2008.
President Obama has already started traveling the country giving speeches and outlining why he wants and deserves another four years in office. Key to his success will be whether the economy gets better or worse.
NewsHour conservative analyst David Brooks said his message misses the point. “I think this election is about national decline. And he's trying to make it an election about [economic] inequality. And I think people agree that inequality is a problem. I don't think they see it as the central problem, which is about growth and really preserving the country as a growing, dynamic country.”
NewsHour liberal analyst Mark Shields adds, “There are going to be two questions that voters ask in 2012. Is it working -- that is, is the Obama economy, economic plan -- and is it fair?”
What Happens Next
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Each party holds a national convention to choose a final presidential nominee. |
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After the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, Republicans in Florida will select their delegates, followed by six states in February. On March 6, otherwise known as Super Tuesday, 11 states will host primaries or caucuses.
Click here to see the New York Times’ primary calendar: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/primaries/calendar
When both parties have chosen a candidate sometime in the spring or possibly early summer, there will be conventions at the end of the summer. Conventions are big celebrations that try to energize the “base” of the party – the folks who will give money, knock on doors and speak out for their candidate.
Some candidates decide to run in the November presidential election as independents or as representatives of smaller third parties, but they face very tough odds without the money and power networks of the Republican and Democratic Parties.
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| --Compiled by Thaisi Da Silva for NewsHour Extra |
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Joplin was able to rise from the ashes because of help from everyone. And I am eternally grateful to anyone who made that possible.
