Free Republic

DES MOINES, Iowa — The mood quickly turned celebratory at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Election Night gathering here, as supporters danced to soul music and drank $4 domestic beers as news outlets reported President Barack Obama‘s re-election.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will hold a campaign event today (Saturday) at the Dubuque Regional Airport. The event is slated to begin at noon, with doors opening at 10 a.m. Check below for live streaming coverage of the event. US House candidate Ben Lange speaking now.

Thursday, November 01, 2012 Iowa remains neck-and-neck in the closing days of Election 2012, with Mitt Romney now showing a one-point lead. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Iowa Voters finds the Republican challenger with 49% support, while President Obama earns 48% of the vote. Two percent (2%) like someone else in the race, and one percent (1%) is undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. The survey of 750 Likely Voters...

Iowa has joined Texas in warning international election observers of possible criminal prosecution if they violate state laws and get near polling places on Election Day. Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz — like Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott last week — on Tuesday threatened Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe election observers with arrest if they came within 300 feet of a polling place’s entrance, in violation of state law. (In Texas, it’s 100 feet.)

2012 Election: Three Key Swing States leaning Romney Ohio: Governor says during "Meet the Press" that Romney will take Ohio. "I now believe it's going to happen." The Des Moines Register endorses Romney. They have not endorsed a Republic for the past 40 years. Endorsement is based on their belief that Romney has what it takes to work together. Nevada: The States Latino Governor Brian Sandoval predicts Romney will take the state. The Republican Senate challenger is ahead in that state.

Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter dismissed the Des Moines Register endorsement of Mitt Romney, saying it was not “based at all in reality.” “They endorsed Mitt Romney in the primary, so this was not much of a surprise,” said Cutter on ABC’s “This Week”, referring to the influential swing-state paper’s backing of the GOP candidate. “It was a little surprising to read that editorial, because it didn't seem to be based at all in reality, not just in the president's record, but in Mitt Romney's record,” Cutter added. “It says that he'd reach across the aisle, which he'd do...

(CNN) -- More than two million Americans have already cast ballots for president less than three weeks before Election Day with a substantial number coming in the battleground state of Iowa. The state, which holds six key electoral votes, is on pace to exceed the 1.5 million votes cast early in 2008 -- a trend that is not lost on either political party. While both parties are investing resources in early voting, Democrats' push to turn out voters -- and in particular young voters in Iowa -- could be paying off. Early numbers, which are updated daily, show that almost...

In a surprise, the Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest and most influential newspaper, has endorsed Mitt Romney for president. The paper endorsed Obama in 2008: While the editorial praised both Romney and Obama, the decision ultimately came down to one question, the newspaper stated. “Which candidate could forge the compromises in Congress to achieve these goals? When the question is framed in those terms, Mitt Romney emerges the stronger candidate.” According to the announcement, the editorial board, which enthusiastically endorsed Romney ahead of the state’s Republican presidential caucuses in January, had “a vigorous debate” over which candidate to choose for...

Oh, my! Perhaps that explains this indecipherable frantic tweet that Mr. Fineman posted earlier.#Obama in dm register tre— Howard Fineman (@howardfineman) October 28, 2012 Heh. Cat got your tweet, toots? Twitter users can’t resist some jabs over that one.@howardfineman your tweets are really hard to decode.— Dave Devitt (@sydcon) October 28, 2012 @howardfineman Is that you Senator Grassley?— Gus (@Gus_802) October 28, 2012 Looking at @howardfineman's recent TL, I'm convinced he's drunk or dictates his columns at HP.— Slim Pickens (@Mattie96) October 28, 2012 HuffPo editor and MSNBC analyst Fineman continues. Basically, that Des Moines Register endorsement of Romney?...

Last night, I noted that the Des Moines Register endorsed Mitt Romney for president. This is the first time that paper has endorsed the Republican presidential nominee since 1972. It turns out that the Des Moines Register is not alone among Iowa newspapers. In fact, the three other major newspapers in this battleground state also endorse Romney. They are the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Quad City Times, and the Sioux City Journal. The titles of the Quad City Times and Sioux City Journal endorsements might be particularly galling to diehard supporters of our once hopey-changey president: “Ready for Change” and...

On the heels of the Des Moines Register’s endorsement, Mitt Romney snagged endorsements today from the three other major Iowa papers: the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Quad City Times, and the Sioux City Journal. Economic issues tipped the balance here, and the Gazette captured the sentiment expressed in all four endorsements:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20121027/OPINION03/121026026/The-Register-endorsement-Mitt-Romney-offers-a-fresh-economic-vision?Frontpage&nclick_check=1

first GOP since Nixon

While a sitting President of the United States diminishes himself with the small silly closing argument of a loser more interested in binders, Big Bird, birth control, and "bullshitter" as opposed to exploding gas prices and increased poverty -- today in the swing state of Iowa, Governor Mitt Romney will make a major economic address as his campaign further expands the electoral battlefield into Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. According to The New York Times, Romney's speech today, coming just eleven days before the election, will be a closing economic argument framing the race in a theme he's been hitting hard...

Political Crop Art near Atlantic AG/OUTDOOR, NEWS October 22nd, 2012 by Ric Hanson These pictures were taken northwest of Atlantic, by photographer Charlie Lloyd, of Nevada, Iowa, in a plane flown by Jim Kurtenbach, also of Nevada, IA. (Photos supplied by Radio Iowa). According to the Cass County Assessor’s Office, the land near the Scott Small farm, is owned by Jim Warren, of CA, and farmed by Jim and Nancy Pellett, of Atlantic.

The Romney camp and GOP operatives on the ground in key swing states think the wind is at their back. A senior Republican told me Sunday night that Mitt Romney is up by two to three points in Virginia, which President Obama won by nearly seven points in 2008. Two recent polls have Romney tied or up one point in Iowa, while two others have Obama up eight and three points. Private Republican polling has Romney up by one point. Republican operatives, who see swing-state voters, by definition, as representative of the country as a whole. In the GOP’s view,...

(Council Bluffs) -- Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan campaigned in western Iowa Sunday, mentioning Monday’s final debate between his running mate Mitt Romney and President Obama. “You take a look at what the president’s doing and what the president’s saying, at what he’s done. He’s not offering anything new or any second-term agenda,” Ryan said. “We’ve had three debates. We’ve had lots of campaigning and all we’re getting is a smaller and smaller campaign,.” Ryan told a crowd in Council Bluffs this is no “ordinary” election. Iowa’s no ordinary state on the Electoral College map either, as both...

-Mitt Romney leads our new New Hampshire poll 49-48. Obama had led by 6-8 pts in our polling before the first debate -Romney has a 52/45 advantage over Obama in New Hampshire on the economy -NH voters think Obama won debate by 8 pts, still support Romney by 1. Democrats need to accept debate this week was not a big game changer -Romney leads Obama 49-48 in Iowa as well, although Obama does have a 66/32 early vote lead there -Iowa voters think Obama won this week's debate 45/36, similar to New Hampshire, but not having a big impact on...

Interview dates: October 11-14, 2012 Sample size: 600 likely voters Margin of error: ± 4 percentage points, 95% of the time Question wording and responses: If the general election were being held today between Barack Obama for president and Joe Biden for vice president, the Democrats, and Mitt Romney for president and Paul Ryan for vice president, the Republicans, for whom would you vote - Obama and Biden or Romney and Ryan (names rotated), or someone else?

When I saw Fox News reporting that women were starting to poll higher for Mitt Romney, I could relate. I have three girlfriends in Iowa, and we're all willing to vote for Romney. Oddly, none of us backed him in caucus early in the year. My first choice was Ron Paul; my friend Cathy's was Newt Gingrich; Pat's was Herman Cain and Kim did not have a favorite. Needless to say, this little political bunch of women had widely varying views of what we wanted in a president.