Republican presidential candidates and outside groups which support them have spent $38.7 million on political advertising since last fall, according to data acquired by TIME.
2012 Election
Pious Baloney, Then and Now
I see that Newt Gingrich is retreating from his broadsides against Mitt Romney for “looting” the companies that Bain Capital invested in. But the atonement comes after several days of severe criticism, and Newt is now attacking Mitt on a second front involving his character and integrity. It also comes after a barrage of …
Romney Rises: Five More Signs of the Mittening
Not long after the polls closed Tuesday night, I surfed over to the New York Times website and was amused to find this headline splashed across the page in bold-face type: “Romney Wins Republican Primary”. Readers could be forgiven for thinking that the Times was referring to more than just New Hampshire. (They weren’t, but they might as …
Evangelicals’ Last-Ditch Effort to Unite in the GOP Race
Some 125 evangelical leaders and their spouses will gather this weekend at a Texas ranch to discuss the latest iteration of Operation What To Do About Mitt Romney. While organizers say it is not a meeting to stop the GOP front …
The Not-Romney Candidates Look Ahead to South Carolina
In the days before the Iowa caucus, Rick Santorum had a decision to make. Spiking in the polls and positioned for a top-three result, Santorum could try to ride the wave into New Hampshire, where legions of free media awaited, …
As Romney Claims New Hampshire, the GOP Comes to Grips with His Inevitability
New Hampshire voters are famously fickle. They venture out on cold January mornings to shake a candidate’s hand, look him in the eye and judge the mettle of the man, polls and pundits be damned. Four years ago, they shrugged off …
New Hampshire: Inconsequential, but Not Boring
The New Hampshire primary was a disappointment to those of us who love the event. The crowds were minimal. The candidates’ stump performances were largely dreadful. The looming South Carolina bloodbath is likely to be a far more …
Scenes from New Hampshire on Primary Day
Manchester, N.H.
On the morning of the New Hampshire primary, Ronald Reagan walked into Newt Gingrich’s campaign headquarters on a leash. The 3-year-old West Highland terrier strolled in with his owner, Dan Ferrante, a …
Former South Carolina Governor Jim Edwards Dumps Romney
In 2008, former South Carolina governor Jim Edwards devoted four months of his life to be the de facto co-chair of Mitt Romney’s campaign in the state, raising money and organizing supporters statewide. This time around not only is he not helping the Romney campaign, he’s not even endorsing Romney. Instead, he tells TIME, he is …
New Hampshire Snoozer? Wait Until You Meet the Also-Rans
Was this the most boring New Hampshire primary ever? That’s what Walter Shapiro, covering his ninth primary season, wrote in The New Republic. He has a point: Mitt Romney ran an oppressively dull front-runner’s campaign, chased by an unusually lethargic pack of underdogs. Those who sat through the weekend’s twin debates likely …
Gingrich’s Super PAC Attack on Romney: Good Lord, Is This Ad Negative
[youtube=http://youtu.be/_evS-T-c35M]
The New Hampshire primary is being held today, but the bigger news for connoisseurs of campaign ads is that the Republican race has moved from the “contrast” phase to the “negative” phase to the “from Hell’s heart, I stab at thee” phase.
New Hampshire Creates Big Expectations, if Little Drama, as GOP Race Wears On
Somersworth, New Hampshire
In a final, frantic day of campaigning before Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, the six Republican presidential hopefuls sought to calibrate expectations for a race from which Mitt Romney’s healthy …
Campaign Circus Reaches Fever Pitch in New Hampshire
Bedford, New Hampshire
The Granite State had been worked to a fever pitch by Monday, as candidates made their final appeals before the long-anticipated primary. In the sleepy New Hampshire hills, the buildings overflowed. Crowds of reporters swallowed candidates and innocent bystanders alike. And the kooks and activists came out to …