Republican sources say Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s crusading attorney general, is “highly likely” to announce a run for governor in 2013, as the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Washington Post report. A bid could set up an interesting contested Republican primary against the state’s lieutenant governor, Bill Bolling, who is expected to run to …
Elections
High Stakes in Ohio, Mississippi and Virginia as Voters Head to the Polls
The narrative arc you’re likely to hear on this Tuesday in early November is that today begins the yearlong countdown to the 2012 presidential contest. But Tuesday’s slate of off-year elections and ballot measures is laden with …
Empty Town Halls and ‘Easter Bunny Epiphanies’: On the Campaign Trail With Gary Johnson
New Hampshire
When Gary Johnson was in third grade, a teacher casually mentioned that Santa Claus didn’t exist. This was news. “I’m like, what?” he recalls. “That means there’s no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny, no Tooth …
Five Unanswered Questions About the Iowa Caucus
Des Moines, Iowa
Iowans are restless. Six weeks after the political world converged on Iowa for the Ames straw poll, the pace of the race toward the first-in-the-nation caucus has slackened. It’s not that candidates …
Marcus Bachmann, Mr. Mixed Blessing
According to Gallup, about 70% of Republicans know who Rep. Michele Bachmann is. As her presidential bid continues, people will also start to recognize a certain silver-haired man in her retinue: her husband, Marcus Bachmann. Last Tuesday, both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran front page-photos of the congresswoman …
Could the 2012 Election Be 2004 All Over Again?
There’s been a lot of buzz inside the Beltway about how this year’s crop of GOP wannabes is strikingly similar to the Democratic cast of George W. Bush challengers in 2004.
You have a frontrunner who is playing it safe and …
Herman Cain and the “Credible” Candidates
In the Des Moines Register’s poll released Saturday surveying Iowa Republicans’ preferences for their party’s presidential nomination, former Godfather’s pizza CEO Herman Cain came in third behind Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann. If you’ve been following media odds-making, that ranking may surprise you. But it’s only the …
Q&A: Ron Paul
In his 12 terms in Congress, Ron Paul has waged many lonely crusades. Before he was a Tea Party standard bearer and a master of the online money bomb, the man known as “Dr. No” was a libertarian icon who regularly bucked his …
The Race for Hispanic Voters Heats Up
President Obama didn’t hold back any praise on Tuesday during his day-trip to the Caribbean. “Puerto Rican artists contribute to our culture,” he declared at the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. “Puerto Rican entreprenuers create American jobs.”
He spoke these words before an audience that has no say in the electoral college that …
Huntsman to Announce Presidential Run Next Week
Jon Huntsman will announce that he is running for President next Tuesday in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park, a source familiar with his decision confirms.
The move is no surprise. In recent weeks, Huntsman has dropped a series of hints indicating that he was nearly certain to run and was merely performing “due diligence,” as an aide …
Monday Night’s Missing Man*
Seven Republican presidential hopefuls will take the stage Monday night at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. With the possible exception of Mitt Romney, none of them have as much riding on the Granite State as Jon Huntsman. And yet the former Utah governor will be watching the debate on television, capping a day spent in …
Gingrich’s Senior Aides Jump Ship En Masse
While Newt Gingrich and his wife are off on a two-week Greek cruise to recuperate from three exhausting weeks of campaigning, his political operation is imploding. The AP and Politico are currently reporting that six senior campaign staffers–including campaign manager Rob Johnson and spokesman Rick Tyler–are quitting en masse.
Campaign 2012: Welcome to the Age of the Twitter Taunt
Hey, you, fancy-pants candidate, with your big shot advisers, and your tailored press handlers, and your truth-telling pose. You ready for me? I’m not kidding. Are you really to have it out, mano a mano, in the Twitterverse, like …