Free Republic

Third Edition: Pawlenty's In, Thune's Out, And The 'Invisible Primary' Is Slowly Drawing To A Close. After months of masking their intentions while nimbly navigating the invisible primary, White House candidates are beginning to show their hands. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty became the first top-tier candidate to formally announce an exploratory committee this month, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is close to doing the same - moves that will likely trigger a run of announcements from other contenders in the coming weeks. With the Iowa caucuses tentatively slated for February 6, 2012, candidates have roughly 10 months left...

Mitt Romney is the choice of nearly one in four of those who agree with the tenets of the tea party, according to a new Pew poll, a surprising result that suggests the former Massachusetts governor’s support heading into 2012 may be broader than previously assumed. Among tea party supporters, Romney took 24 percent to 19 percent for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, 15 percent for former House speaker Newt Gingrich and 13 percent for Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, long considered the tea party’s 2012 candidate-in-waiting, took just 12 percent — another piece of evidence...

Our new National Poll shows that Mitt Romney could beat Barack Obama in 2012. In our national poll conducted this week, we asked voters where they stand with Obama and the 2012 Presidential election. First, our poll showed Obama with a 46% approval rating and 54% disapprove. Which is a -4% spread from Real Clear Politics approval average. Overall though, Obama still beats all GOP candidates in a general election.

Congratulations, Mitt Romney! You have won the Hillary Clinton seat for the 2012 primaries. You're the long-distance frontrunner who is now expected to win New Hampshire. The Magellan poll of "likely 1,451 Republican primary voters," about 2/3 GOP registered and 1/3 independent: Mitt Romney - 39 percent Sarah Palin - 16 percent Mike Huckabee - 10 percent Newt Gingrich - 8 percent Ron Paul - 7 percent Tim Pawlenty - 4 percentanother candidate - 4 percent Rick Santorum - 3 percent Haley Barbour - 1 percent Romney has to be considered the frontrunner, even though he's polling only 7 points...

Barack Obama would easily take Nevada if he had to stand for reelection today...unless the Republicans nominated Mitt Romney. Obama has early double digit advantages against Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Sarah Palin in the state but has just a single point edge over Romney. Nevada is one of the few swing states we've polled in the last couple months where more voters approve (50%) than disapprove (46%) of Obama. Like everywhere else in the country Democrats are largely happy with him and Republicans are most unhappy- what sets apart his numbers in Nevada is his popularity with independents, 55%...

It will be more than a year before New Hampshire voters trudge to the polls for the first primary in the nation, but the New Hampshire Journal feels it’s just the right time to take the Granite State temperature on the Republican field. As expected, Mitt Romney from neighboring Massachusetts takes the early lead in the poll, but perhaps the extent of that lead will provide a mild surprise. Romney leads Sarah Palin by 23 points, and Mike Huckabee is the only other candidate in double digits: Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney holds a commanding lead in New Hampshire in...

A new poll shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the early frontrunner in New Hampshire, where he holds a commanding 23-point edge over his closest potential rival -- former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The New Hampshire Journal poll, conducted by the Republican firm Magellan Strategies, found Romney comfortably at the head of the pack of rumored 2012 hopefuls with 39 percent of the vote. He's followed by Palin at 16 percent, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 10 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 8 percent and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) at 7 percent. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim...

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney holds a commanding lead in New Hampshire in the early stages of the race for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination, according to a new survey commissioned by NH Journal and conducted by Magellan Strategies. The survey is the first statewide survey of Granite State Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in 2011. Romney leads former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin by 23 points, with Romney earning 39% and Palin earning 16%. Mike Huckabee (10%)...

Reporting on each new poll that throws cold water on Sarah Palin's chances as a presidential candidate may be starting to sound like it's piling on. But not only have recent surveys shown that big percentages of the general public don't look kindly on a Palin candidacy, a new poll by CNN/Opinion Research finds that she makes the worst showing among fellow Republicans when compared to potential GOP contenders considered for the moment to be in the top tier. Fifty-one percent of Republicans who were surveyed in the poll conducted Dec. 17-19 said they were not very likely or not...

It’s a poll of adults, not even of registered voters, and the sample’s probably tilted a bit too far towards Democrats (42/33 if you include leaners), so scale the Republican numbers up by four or five points. An interesting trend for Romney: After seeing his favorables dip just before the midterms, he’s now back to where he was in July 2009. An early indicator that as the ObamaCare debate recedes, some conservatives are turning less chilly towards him?

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin continues to be a highly polarizing figure, with a whopping 57 percent viewing her unfavorably according to a new poll. The Bloomberg survey, released Monday, also found that the negative feelings about Palin are particularly strong. A third -- 33 percent -- said they view Palin "very unfavorably." That's the same percentage that viewed her favorably cumulatively -- respondents who either viewed her "somewhat" or "very" favorably (!). The survey results indicate that Palin faces a significant image problem as she decides to run for president. Just look at how Pres. Obama's numbers compare. Obama...

Overall: Palin 21% Gingrich 19% Romney 18% Huckabee 16% Conservatives: Palin 24% Gingrich 23% Romney 15% Huckabee 14% Men: Palin 23% Gingrich 23% Romney 16% Huckabee 11% 46-65 age category: Palin 21% Romney 18% Gingrich 17% Huckabee 14% 65+ age category: Palin 23% Romney 19% Gingrich 17% Huckabee 17% This is the first time that Palin has led in any national PPP poll of GOP contenders and among these categories. Could this be a preview of coming attractions? Yes, there is no frontrunner right now as Karl Rove suggests. But could Palin become a clear frontrunner by the end of...

Will Mitt Romney make a Presidential run in 2012? Speculation is growing after Romney made an appearance on the Tonight Show. But if the former Massachusetts Governor has Presidential dreams, he may have a hard time breaking into the public spotlight thanks to Sarah Palin who seems to be everywhere these days. Mitt Romney: If you see me sign up for a gig on Fox News it's a sure sign I'm running for President. Mitt Romney, on Jay Leno Wednesday, continued his coy routine on his plans for 2012, but he did get in that not so subtle jab at...

Former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney is looking to recapture the limelight from pop culture and new media megastar Sarah Palin when he sits down with “Tonight Show” retread Jay Leno tomorrow night in a move some GOP observers dismiss as straight out of TV’s dark ages. “On the hipness scale, this is far from Bristol Palin on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ It’s more like Richard Nixon on ‘Laugh In,’ ” scoffed Democratic consultant Scott Ferson.

Opinion: History Says Mitt's the Man for 2012 Michael Medved Contributor AOL News (Nov. 29) -- Conventional wisdom says the battle for the GOP nomination in 2012 is wide open and unpredictable, but Republican history suggests that there is an obvious front runner who is nearly certain to represent his party in the presidential race. For nearly 70 years -- long before most of the current contenders were even born -- GOP leaders and primary voters have displayed a shockingly consistent tendency to pick a candidate whose previous national campaign, whether successful or not, suggested it was "his turn." This...

I spent only a few hours with the former governor, helping to prepare her for the vice presidential debate in October 2008. And during that brief window, I saw Palin at one of her most vulnerable moments, when any result other than a complete train wreck seemed impossible. And yet I also saw a determined woman buckle down, recover her confidence and then storm the national stage where she more than held her own against a seven-term senator. Did she face some tough slogging to reach her remarkable perch? Sure, you betcha. I admire her tenacity, her verve, her moxie,...

1. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Monday that Sarah Palin might well "run away" with the Republican nomination for president. It's funny Huckabee should say such a thing, because he's got a lot of say over whether she does just that. And it has to do with whether he even runs in the first place. As potential 2012 candidates weigh their prospects and determine their plans for the next presidential race, one thing is clear: that Huckabee and Palin inhabit largely the same space -- i.e. they each would perform well without the other, but they might undercut each...

PPP numbers looking ahead to the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination contest in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania find Mitt Romney looking strong in New England and the West and Mike Huckabee with a slight edge in the Midwest. In the critical early state of New Hampshire Romney continues to hold a dominant polling advantage, with 40% to 13% for Huckabee and 10% each for Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin. If Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, Mitch Daniels, or John Thune somehow emerges as the winner in New Hampshire they'll be able to truthfully say they started out with...

President Obama's Democratic party lost the midterm elections this week and he could very well lose his bid for a second term in 2012, according to a shocking poll released today. Obama would lose in a hypothetical race against former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee 52 percent to 44 percent, according to CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would also defeat Obama 50 percent to 45 percent in the race for the White House in 2012.

OK, the election’s over, and the message from most voters was that they didn’t care much for President Obama’s agenda. Now the focus is on the race for the presidency in 2012. On the Republican side, it’s a dead heat between the ex-governors – Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Sarah Palin of Alaska, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary voters. Asked who they would vote for if the Republican presidential primary were held today, 20% say Romney, 19% Huckabee and another 19% Palin. (To see survey question wording, click...