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2012 Presidential Race

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2012 Presidential Race : The Bullpen
Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey: Wednesday's season finale of American Political Gladiators

CNN will host the 20th game-show-like debate of the GOP campaign season tonight. And with any luck, it'll be the last

2012 Presidential Race : Burning Question
Mitt Romney narrowly trails Rick Santorum in Michigan, and pundits argue that if Romney loses the state where he was born, party elders may go searching for a new candidate.

What will the GOP do if Mitt Romney implodes?

Republican insiders are nervously weighing their options as the race's longtime frontrunner loses his veneer of inevitability

6 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : By the numbers
As Republicans try to settle on a candidate to face President Obama in November, it's mostly older, white, Christian voters who are casting their ballots.

The 'old, white' voters picking the GOP nominee: By the numbers

Less than two-thirds of Americans are white. But in Iowa and South Carolina's crucial GOP presidential contests, nearly every voter was white

9 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : Opinion Brief
Eleven different Republicans have topped a national presidential poll since last year, making this one of the most fluid races in history.

The 'most volatile race in history': Why GOP voters can't make up their minds

Romney can't seal the deal. Santorum is surging. Gingrich is plotting a comeback. Paul's devoted fans are keeping the faith. And voters just can't settle on a favorite

17 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : The List
Without millions of dollars in ad spending from a friendly super PAC, Newt Gingrich might have been forced to drop out of the GOP presidential race weeks ago.

4 ways super PACs are good for democracy

Many Americans assume super PACs are evil. But there are plenty of good reasons to applaud the new flood of cash flowing freely into our body politic

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2012 Presidential Race : Analysis

Who is stronger against Obama: Santorum or Romney?

Rick Santorum has overtaken Mitt Romney in several GOP primary polls — but skeptics still aren't sold on the Pennsylvanian's ability to topple Obama in November

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2012 Presidential Race : Instant Guide
The GOP came close to a brokered convention in 1976, when Ronald Reagan just barely lost to incumbent President Gerald Ford.

Brokered conventions: A guide to political pundits' dream scenario

Not since the days of Reagan and Ford have political junkies and dissastisfied Republicans so loudly pondered the possibility of a deadlocked convention

2012 Presidential Race : Opinion Brief
In a PPP poll of Michigan, Rick Santorum leads Mitt Romney by 15 points, and many politicos expect Romney to unleash negative ads on Santorum to close that gap.

Is Rick Santorum invulnerable to Mitt Romney's negative attacks?

Mitt and his super PAC pals successfully buried Newt Gingrich under a mountain of sleazy ads. That may not work with the "squeaky clean" Santorum

11 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : Forecast
Drawings of the Republican presidential candidates are displayed at a booth at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.

5 ways CPAC could affect the 2012 race

Right-wing politicos converge on Washington for the election-year Conservative Political Action Conference. What should campaign-watchers expect?

7 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : By the numbers
The Obama-friendly super PAC Priorities USA Action has already received $2 million from DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg, and will likely garner millions more from wealthy Democrats.

The 'disturbing' rise of super PACs: By the numbers

A small number of super-wealthy Americans are pumping a lot of lightly regulated money into the political system. Here's how it breaks down

11 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : Burning Question
An election season dominated by heated social debates could favor Rick Santorum over Mitt Romney.

Will the culture war shape the 2012 race?

As the economy improves, unemployment is again being overshadowed by birth control, abortion, and gay marriage with inevitable consequences for the campaign

16 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : The List
Rick Santorum stymied Mitt Romney's momentum on Tuesday, sweeping to victory in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri, giving Santorum more total wins (four) than Romney (three).

Tuesday's 'stunning' Santorum sweep: 6 takeaways

Just when Mitt Romney was getting comfortable, Rick Santorum shocks the political world with wins in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri

11 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : Twitter Take
Twitter image

The latest tweets about the GOP presidential contest

Real-time, unfiltered commentary from around the world

2012 Presidential Race : The List
Mitt Romney easily won the Nevada caucuses over the weekend, but only 33,000 Republican voters participated, about 10,000 fewer than in 2008.

Why GOP voters are sitting out the primaries: 4 theories

Republicans are supposedly fired up about making Obama a one-term president. So why are they so meh about choosing a candidate to face him?

18 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : The List
Mitt Romney campaigns in Reno: Nevada's highly motivated Mormon population could help Mitt's turnout problem this Saturday.

The Nevada caucuses: 5 key questions

Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney may seem like a sure bet in Nevada, but caucuses are difficult to poll and the Tea Party remains an X factor

5 Comments
2012 Presidential Race : The Bullpen
Robert Shrum

Robert Shrum: Nominating Mitt Malaprop

Romney has the GOP nomination wrapped up — but his serial verbal miscues will haunt him in November

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