Orlando, Florida
By the time fans began filing into his Election Night soiree in a capacious Orlando ballroom, there were signs Newt Gingrich had yielded to the grim reality awaiting him. Television screens, speeches and …
Primaries
Mitt Romney Wins Florida Primary in a Rout
By the end, it had become a matter of margins. Would Mitt Romney defeat Newt Gingrich in Florida’s Republican primary? Or would Romney obliterate his opponent, reestablishing himself as the race’s undisputed frontrunner? It …
Bracing for a Loss in Florida, Gingrich Reinvents Himself as a Grassroots Insurgent
Tampa
When you throw a party only to show up an hour and 45 minutes late, the least you can do is feed your guests. Once he arrived at a cavernous hangar for a rally on the last full day of campaigning before Tuesday’s …
For Mitt Romney in Florida, It’s All About Character (Attacks)
Pompano Beach, Florida
A political riddle presents itself on the trail with Mitt Romney: Can a true man of character constantly attack the character of another man?
From the first introductions on Sunday, character was presented as the defining, most winning attribute of the former governor: Romney was touted as the candidate whose …
Outstumped and Outspent, Newt Gingrich Flounders in Florida
The Villages, Florida
For a moment, as he gazed out at the gargantuan crowd gathered in brilliant sunshine, Newt Gingrich caught a glimpse of what might have been. Gingrich arrived at this retirement enclave in central …
The Once and Future Front Runner: Why Romney Is Winning in Florida and What Comes Next
In a Republican-primary season marked by political chaos, here’s something that finally seems settled: Mitt Romney will win the Tuesday, Jan. 31, Florida primary. So say the latest public polls, several of which suggest Romney …
Armageddon for Newt
One of the wonderful things about our bloated, endless, tedious, miraculous presidential campaigns is that sooner or later you find out just exactly who these pretenders are. Thursday night in Jacksonville, after 18 debates in which his bluster camouflaged a myriad of flaws, Newt Gingrich’s deficits–the sloppiness, the hyperbole, the …
Major League Primary: Why Florida Is the Big Show of the GOP Race
TIME/CNN Florida Poll: Romney and Gingrich in Virtual Tie
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are locked in a virtual dead heat just days before Florida’s pivotal Jan. 31 primary, according to a new TIME/CNN/ORC poll.
The Return of the Native: Rick Perry as Damaged Goods in Texas
The governor comes back to rule his state after a humiliating and humbling campaign. Already, the locals see him as hobbled in a local political scene where he was once the master.
GOP 2012: The Anti-Primary
Watching Barack Obama battle Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primary race, you sometimes had a strange sense that neither of them could possibly lose. Obama had a movement of delirious activists and newcomers behind him, while Hillary had Clinton machine loyalists, women and other groups ready to fight to the bitter end for …
Newt Gingrich Pulls Off South Carolina Upset, Increasing Chances of Long Nomination Fight
Columbia, South Carolina
Newt Gingrich rode a wave of momentum to a dramatic victory in Saturday night’s South Carolina primary, shocking observers who had twice written off his candidacy and setting up what could become a …
What You Missed While Not Watching the Last South Carolina GOP Debate
0 minutes. The CNN spaceship is set to launch, with blue gels on the lights that give the auditorium an alien aquarium vibe. It’s the 17th GOP debate of 2012 cycle. Roll the intro montage: “Welcome to the South, the heart of …