Dark Horse

Although Mitt Romney has been the most consistent GOP candidate in his campaign for the presidency, a turning of events in the popularity of Rick Santorum may prove to be a detriment to the success of Mitt Romney. The polls are always flimsy, but they have been especially fluctuant as of late with Newt Gingrich leading in the polls last month, and now Santorum getting his fair share of the spotlight. This is partially due to his wins in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri, where Santorum won the votes of previous Gingrich fans (most of them conservatives). Whatever the case may be, Santorum is making his presence known in the race for the presidency. But as we all know, a lead is nothing unless you finish with it. And in this political race, there is bound to be a dark horse.

Breakthrough for Santorum?

Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri all had their Republican primaries today. Although few precincts have reported in all three states, Rick Santorum possesses a significant early lead in all three.Though none have much importance in terms of numbers of delegates, simply the honor of winning the primary and the momentum which Santorum can potentially gain from these victories is very important for his campaign. These primaries are significant even moreso because we now move into a lull with few primaries/caucuses, with no more after this weekend until February 28th, building up to Super Tuesday on March 6th. If Santorum can entrench his name in the minds of voters as the newest, most intriguing candidate and the guy with the hot hand leading into the key period in late February/early March, his campaign could see a huge rise, and he could become the legitimate contender against Romney which Santorum has been claiming to be for so long now.

Obama's Reelection Campaign

So far Obama has started his reelection campaign by fundraising for one of his supportive super PACs, Priorities USA Action. Before now Obama hadn't had much to do with this super PAC. His campaign manger says this sudden change "was a reaction to massive fundraising posted by super PACs supporting GOP candidates". Obama supports a law intended to force full disclosure of all funding intended to influence elections. So why would he support super PAC fundraising? I think Obama is getting a little nervous about how much money the GOP candidates are raising. In December, Priorities USA Action had about $4.4 million compared to Romney's Restore Our Future which had over $30 million. Even though Obama called spending by these groups "a threat to our democracy", for some reason he is supporting Super PAC fundraising this campaign so far. Is it because it is working for Romney? Not only are the GOP candidates trying to defeat Obama but also two other PACs (American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS) are planning on raising money to help defeat Obama. I think our president might be getting a little nervous about reelection.

The battle continues

As Romney tries to fend off the continuing challenge from Gingrich and focus his attention on President Obama, he is now being forced to deal with another rival: Rick Santorum. Santorum is positioned to do well in Minnesota’s caucuses today. If he wins there, it would interrupt Mr. Romney’s efforts to present an unchallenged march to the Republican presidential nomination after his consecutive victories in Florida and Nevada. Yesterday, Mr. Romney’s campaign began unloading criticism on Mr. Santorum, who had largely escaped being the target of Mr. Romney’s formidable campaign machine.

“Rick Santorum is a nice guy, but he is simply not ready to be president,” Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota and a top surrogate for Mr. Romney, wrote in a statement Monday morning. That was followed by two e-mails from Mr. Romney’s campaign: one titled “Rick Santorum: Proud Defender of Earmarks and Pork-Barrel Spending,”.

Mr. Santorum’s campaign responded by accusing Mr. Romney’s “well-financed seek-and-destroy attack machine” of becoming nervous about the threat he represents, which is so true. Campaigning in Minnesota, Mr. Santorum attacked the health care program that Mr. Romney, as governor of Massachusetts, helped push through the Legislature. Mr. Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, might find more strength in the rust belt and polls suggest that Mr. Romney might have trouble connecting with voters. This could be Santorum's big shot and he does not want to miss it.

Florida Primary Results

The Florida primary was held last week with interesting results. Although Mr. Gingrich won the South Carolina primary, Romney took the lead in Florida. He beat Gingrich by 14 percentage points. Santorum and Paul weren't even close. Romney seems like the clear victor at the moment. According to the New York Times, he showed his growing strength as a candidate in Florida. When he spoke, he spoke like a candidate in the general election. It may seem like Romney has it in the bag, but not yet. Gingrich made it clear that he is not going to give up until the August nominating convention. And Romney's aides know this, and they are taking it seriously. It seems hopeless for Santorum and Paul now. But the facts remain the same: Romney won the Florida primary which was winner-take-all, so he walked away with all 50 delegates. There is going to be a lull in campaigns this month which is not good for Gingrich who needs to regain supporters or at least show everyone that he's still in it to win it.

Romney Definitively Wins Florida Primary

For those who desire a "conservative alternative" to Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination, the chances appear to be diminishing. Tuesday night signaled a decisive victory for Romney, with a big victory in the Florida primary. As of around 9:30, Romney had gained 46.6% of the vote, with Gingrich the closest follower, at 31.8%. Behind those two, Santorum gained 13.3% of the vote, while Paul had received 7% of the vote. What does this mean for the GOP field? It's hard to say right now, but definitely keep your eyes on the major news outlets over the next few days. Before the primary, some in the media we're asking if Gingrich would get out of the race were he to lose Tuesday night--will that happen? Gingrich, along with both Santorum and Paul, based on what they're saying appear to be in the race for the long haul. While the Republican base certainly appears most comfortable with Romney, it looks as if we could be in for a long, drawn out competition leading up to the GOP national convention.

Florida Primary

Mitt Romney jumped out to a strong lead in Florida's Republican primary, according to unofficial early returns. If the trend holds, a Romney victory in Florida would regain his status as the front-runner in the race to take on President Barack Obama in November. With 41% of the unofficial count, Romney had 50% of the vote compared to 30% for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 12% for former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and 7% for Texas Rep. Ron Paul. "I think the winner of Florida is in all likelihood going to be the nominee of our party," Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said, "Florida is a mini America." With three different winners in the three contests so far, Florida is a vital state in the nominating process and although Romney is leading, the night is still young with less than half of the votes having been counted so far.