In the weeks since Rick Perry upended the Republican presidential primary, there’s been little hard data out of Iowa. The reputable Des Moines Register hasn’t published a poll since Perry barreled into the field. The race remains in flux: Michele Bachmann’s star is falling after a quick ascent that peaked in a victory at Ames, and Perry …
Primaries
Southern Bellwether: Florida’s Crucial 2012 Contest Takes Shape
Miami
An election year is nigh, so it’s time once again for Florida to remind us that it is more than just a dysfunctional retiree repository. It’s Our Most Important Swing State. The Florida Republican Party’s …
Is Romney Really a Lock in New Hampshire?
Summer is fast turning to fall here in New Hampshire, where I’m reporting a story for the print magazine, and it strikes me that there’s been curiously little talk of late about this state’s traditionally all-important primary. To be fair, in the past several months the Republican presidential race has revolved around other things: Iowa, …
Romney’s Best Hope for Wounding Perry
The punditocracy has achieved consensus: given the latest crop of national horse-race polls, Mitt Romney can no longer hope to claim the Republican presidential nomination by default; he has no choice but to knock off Rick Perry. There’s just no real consensus on how exactly he should do it.
A few of the current ideas and their …
“Businessman” Romney vs. “Career Politician” Perry
The early cold war between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry has turned into real political skirmishing, and speaking in a speech in Perry’s home state on Tuesday, Romney took his most direct shots yet at the Texas governor. The opening battle is over management experience. Both men claim that they know how to get the economy moving again. …
Memo to Mitt: Remind Voters That Perry Was a Democrat
I’m skeptical about Rick Perry’s sudden lead in Republican primary polling, which has some people declaring Mitt Romney’s campaign in a state of emergency. For one thing, Romney has lain awfully low this summer, whereas Perry’s …
Why Jon Huntsman Is Struggling to Break Through
Jon Huntsman, who is running last in the latest Gallup poll and first in the magazine-profile primary, earned another encomium this week, this one from Michael Brendan Dougherty of The American Conservative. The piece does a good …
The Overhyped, Underwhelming Iowa GOP Straw Poll
When Iowa Republicans hold their presidential straw poll in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, a couple of things will happen. One is that the state party will make a lot of money, including from corporate sources. The other is… well, …
Sizing Up Rick Perry
Other-Michael’s swell piece on Rick Perry is a reminder that a GOP presidential race which feels well underway may be in for a complete reboot before long. And while we know some things about Perry, he remains under-covered in proportion to the enthusiasm a lot of Republican establishment insiders feel about him. That’s why this rundown …
Pawlenty vs. Bachmann: No More Mr. Nice Guy
Tim Pawlenty didn’t have much choice: He had to go after Michele Bachmann sooner or later. The Minnesota congresswoman has completely overshadowed Pawlenty’s campaign, and appears on track to finish first or second in Iowa’s caucuses, where Pawlenty had banked on a splash-making strong showing that could vault him into subsequent …
Will New Hampshire Matter More?
Iowa has been getting all the attention of late, but it’s entirely possible that when it comes to choosing the ultimate Republican nominee, the caucuses won’t matter all that much. It’s not hard to imagine Michele Bachmann …
Jon Huntsman Launches His Good Guy Campaign
“I’m Jon Huntsman, and I am humbled,” said the good guy candidate when he took the stage. This was a far cry from Mitt Romney’s pitch: I can beat Obama, who is terrible. Or Tim Pawlenty’s pitch: I am honest and conservative. Or …
Tim Pawlenty Tries to Turn the Page, Make Money
When running for President of the United States, there are certain things you never want to hear your advisers saying to the press. “I have not yet seen the National Enquirer story,” is one. “The literati sent out their minions to do their bidding,” is another. “Something will happen. Anthony Weiner will resign. Something will happen,” …