Related Content: Karen Tumulty

Polls Show Rick Santorum Virtually Tied with Mitt Romney Nationally

On The Radar

With two new polls showing underdog Rick Santorum gaining on front-runner Mitt Romney among Republicans nationally, the contenders for the GOP presidential nomination are taking advantage of a lull between primary contests to stockpile resources and rally supporters for the next phase of the race.
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Election 2012: Republicans united on Goal — Beat Obama — Divided on How to Get There

On The Radar

What in the world is the matter with the Republican Party? This is an election year when pretty much everything should be going the GOP’s way. A Democratic president is facing the worst reelection environment in a generation. The conservative base is fired up to defeat him and should be riding high after securing the largest GOP House majority since the 1940s. Looser campaign finance restrictions have unleashed the ability of the party’s wealthiest donors to spend unlimited amounts.

February 3, 2012

Weekly Show

What do January’s unemployment numbers tell us about the economy? Plus, Mitt Romney won the Florida primary, but his comments about the poor are making headlines. Also, new FEC disclosures shine light on Super PAC money.

Mitt Romney’s Florida Win May be a Turning Point

On The Radar

Mitt Romney’s sweeping victory in the Florida Republican primary Tuesday did two things for him that he badly needed: It set the front-runner back on a glide path to the 2012 presidential nomination, and it raised his standing with the GOP’s conservative base.
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Gingrich Vows to Ban Embryonic Stem-Cell Research, Questions In Vitro Practices

On The Radar

As former House speaker Newt Gingrich courts evangelical voters in advance of Tuesday’s Florida primary, he is drawing an increasingly hard line against the use of embryonic stem-cell research — a position that contrasts not only with that of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, but also with statements that Gingrich himself has made on the subject in the past.

Why Are There So Many Presidential Debates?

On The Radar

In the lore of the U.S. political system, debates are among the most hallowed of rituals. From Lincoln-Douglas on, they have been the moments when voters are supposed to have an opportunity to get to know their candidates, contrast their ideas, evaluate their mettle. But this campaign season, it might be fair to ask: Are Americans getting too much of a good thing?
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Newt Gingrich Launches Fundraising, Organizing Blitz

On The Radar

Newt Gingrich moved quickly Sunday to capi­tal­ize on his victory in the South Carolina primary, launching an aggressive fundraising and organizing effort and casting himself as the only candidate thus far to have captured the enthusiasm of the Republican base.
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January 20, 2012

Weekly Show

On the Webcast Extra: The panelists discuss what the voters are saying as they report from across South Carolina. Also, analysis of the evangelical and tea party's presence in the South Carolina primary. Is the republican party in the middle of an identity crisis? And a look at what influence Nikki Haley and South Carolina's congressional representatives have on the race.

 

Gingrich Sees a South Carolina Surge

On The Radar

On the morning after a bellicose debate performance that had the audience leaping to its feet, Newt Gingrich got this challenge from a retired Marine officer who had come to hear him speak at an art gallery here. “What I’ve been looking for in my candidate is, we’ve got to bloody Obama’s nose,” Vence Jelovchan said. “I don’t want to bloody his nose,” the former House speaker replied. “I want to knock him out.”

Rivals Vie to Battle Romney from the Right — Alone

On The Radar

Mitt Romney’s rivals tried to shove one another aside Tuesday in an effort to consolidate support around a single conservative alternative to the former Massachusetts governor. Not surprisingly, there was disagreement among the three men — former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry — over who ought to do the shoving and who ought to do the stepping aside.