At an event in S. Carolina on Saturday, Rick Perry is expected to make his intentions known on a run for the 2012 White House. [Read more…] about Rick Perry to Drop 2012 Hint Saturday
Election
John Bolton for President?
John Bolton may be adding his name to the long list of 2012 Republican hopefulls. Here are his words on the idea: [Read more…] about John Bolton for President?
Rivalry to heat up between Romney and Perry
The massive wave of heat across the US isn’t the only thing getting hot. The rivalry between 2012 Republican hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Perry is beginning to heat up as well. [Read more…] about Rivalry to heat up between Romney and Perry
Mitt Romney to start next phase of campaign
The 2012 Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, looks to begin the next phase of his campaign by making a round of stops in early voting primary states. [Read more…] about Mitt Romney to start next phase of campaign
Romney Building VP Short List Already?
via Bearing Drift
Former Massachussets governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney was in Virginia Beach yesterday attending a fundraiser at the home of State Sen. Jeff McWaters. [Read more…] about Romney Building VP Short List Already?
Rick Perry Group Readies For Iowa Straw Poll
Rick Perry may not be ready to announce a presidential run just yet, but an advocacy group designed to bolster his increasingly likely candidacy isn’t waiting for him to make a decision: It is already laying the groundwork for him in the nation’s first voting state of Iowa.
Americans for Rick Perry — a 527 group that is prohibited from having direct contact with the Texas governor — is set to open its headquarters in West Des Moines this week under a lease that will run through the Aug. 13 Ames Straw Poll.
The Iowa branch of the pro-Perry group is composed of a few volunteers and seven paid staffers, most of whom played key roles in former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s Iowa operation before resigning as a group last month amid differences with the candidate over the direction of his struggling campaign.
Perry has not indicated whether he would appear himself in Ames for next month’s straw poll — an important test of early support for candidates who choose to participate — but the operatives running the Iowa branch of Americans for Rick Perry intend to spend the next four weeks preparing to have a significant presence at the first major spectacle of the 2012 campaign.
“Our goal is to share information both before and during the event about Governor Perry’s record and to continue to generate enthusiasm if he runs for president,” explained the group’s executive director in the state, Craig Schoenfeld.
Six candidates purchased tent space for the Ames Straw Poll, which serves as a fundraiser for the Republican Party of Iowa.
Quinnipiac National Poll Finds Obama Tops Republican Challengers
Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, a relative newcomer in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, is surging and now trails former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 25 – 14 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has 12 percent, followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry with 10 percent. No other contender is over 6 percent.
This compares to a June 8 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, showing Romney with 25 percent, Palin with 15 percent and Bachmann with 6 percent, sixth in a field of 10 candidates in the survey.
President Barack Obama tops all leading GOP White House hopefuls, hitting the all- important 50-percent mark against every candidate but Romney:
•47 – 41 percent over Romney, unchanged from June 8;
•50 – 38 percent over Bachmann, who was not matched against Obama June 8;
•53 – 34 percent over Sarah Palin, compared to 53 – 36 percent June 8;
•50 – 37 percent over Perry, who was not matched against Obama June 8.
Wall Street Favoring Romney
A year after President Barack Obama signed into law the most extensive financial regulations since the Great Depression, Wall Street so far is putting its political money elsewhere.
Employees of Goldman Sachs Group gave Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney $238,250 in the last three months, more than workers at any other company, according to a computer-assisted analysis of Federal Election Commission data. Obama took in $10,113.
Four years ago, employees of New York-based Goldman gave $994,795 to Obama and $234,275 to Romney, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group. For both candidates, it was more than any other company’s employees.
In addition, Romney took in $2.1 million from donors reporting a New York state address, where the financial industry is headquartered, FEC data shows. Obama raised $1.3 million during the same period. For the 2008 election, Obama raised $50.5 million in the state; Romney raised $2.8 million, according to the center.
Romney and Obama were among the candidates offering the first looks at their presidential fundraising. Their FEC reports cover donations through June 30.
Charles Krauthammer: ‘Newt Gingrich is Done’
Romney’s $10 Million Phone Bank Fundraiser
The Atlantic | Mitt Romney raised $10.25 million Monday during a phone bank fundraiser held in Las Vegas. It’s widely acknowledge to be an impressive one day total. But how much is it in the larger context of presidential politics?
In 2008, the combined total for all the candidates for the presidency was more than $1 billion for the first time in history. Barack Obama alone raised $730 million, while John McCain raised roughly $333 million. Ralph Nader raised $4 million for the contest, and Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr raised $1 million. During the GOP primaries four years ago, Romney raised roughly $110 million in his failed bid for the nomination (if you could the $44 million that came from his personal fortune as having been “raised”). That same year, Ron Paul wowed observers by raising $6 million in a 24 hour period. MORE