Walterboro, South Carolina
Newt Gingrich likes to boast that he does things differently than conventional politicians. Sometimes this is true. Hours after receiving Rick Perry’s endorsement, and amid new polls that show the …
Primaries
Rick Perry Bows Out of GOP Race, Backs Gingrich
Rick Perry dropped out of the Republican presidential race and endorsed Newt Gingrich on Thursday morning, delivering a short, jaunty speech to supporters in South Carolina. “I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable …
Well Positioned and Plenty Lucky, Romney Works to Hold His Lead in South Carolina
Rock Hill, South Carolina
In 2008, Mitt Romney hopped on a plane to Nevada two days before the critical South Carolina primary, convinced that his Mormon faith and the moderate policy positions he took as Massachusetts …
With Nomination Almost in Reach, Romney Looks to Bury Gingrich Again in South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
With just days until the South Carolina primary looming as the last real hurdle on his march to the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney is trying to ward off a late charge from Newt Gingrich by …
Why Mitt Romney’s Tax Rate Matters
Mitt Romney stammered on Monday night when debate moderators asked him whether he’d release his tax returns. “I hadn’t planned on releasing tax records, because the law requires us to release all of our assets, all the things …
The Great Bain Diversion
The great debate about whether Mitt Romney was a vulture capitalist or venture capitalist at Bain Capital is useful and interesting, but not for the reasons many people pretend it is. The country benefits from a frank discussion about the wages of capitalism and what limits, if any, we should place on free markets. But the specifics of …
What Ad Spending Says About Each GOP Candidate–and Their Success
Restore Our Future, the super PAC backing Mitt Romney, has spent $8.9 million on the 2012 Republican presidential primary, more money than any other group. Throughout the fall it held its fire, even as Ron Paul pumped money into …
Weak Tea and Dirty Tricks in South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
A few minutes after Rick Santorum had finished addressing a packed wings joint here on Sunday, Bill Gautsch felt that he’d seen the man who can stop Mitt Romney. “He’s the closest thing to Jim DeMint that I’ve seen,” Gautsch said, referring to the state’s junior Republican senator, a hero of the …
Romney’s Killer Instinct: How Mitt Is Winning and Why Obama Should Take Note
Mitt Romney has been running his presidential campaign based on a primal instinct: kill or be killed. And so after Rick Santorum fought Romney to a virtual tie in Iowa and arrived in New Hampshire trailed by media hordes, …
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 …
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 …