presidential primaries news stories on Newser

What We Learned Last Night

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:21:30 CDT

Mitt Romney scored a hat trick, winning all three of yesterday's primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. CNN and Politico each offer five takeaways: Wisconsin rejected Rick Santorum : It was Santorum's last shot at winning a Midwestern state , and he ignored Maryland in order to hit what...

Super Tuesday: Who Looks Poised to Grab What

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:19:38 CST

Tomorrow is looking good for Mitt Romney, who will likely take more of the 422 delegates up for grabs in Super Tuesday contests than his opponents (an additional 15 super delegates aren't bound to tomorrow's wins). He may even walk away with a delegate majority, writes Nate Silver. A look...

Is Gingrich the Next Goldwater?

Matt Cantor — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:33:28 CST

If Newt Gingrich manages to defy party elites and score the nomination, it's pretty much "suicide" for Republicans: "Everything about Newt Gingrich screams 'general election disaster,'" writes Steve Kornacki in Salon , from his "personal and ethical baggage" to his "arrogance." Indeed, his favorability score is less than half his...

Governors Have a Big Advantage in Primaries

Kevin Spak — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:58:05 CDT

Conventional wisdom states that governors have an advantage over senators in presidential primaries—but Nate Silver decided to run the statistics just to be sure. The result? “The advantage may be even more powerful than you think,” he writes on his FiveThirtyEight blog at the New York Times . Governors don’t...

States Weigh Delaying Primaries to Save Cash

Matt Cantor — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:50:05 CDT

With money tight, some states may push their presidential primaries later, or even cancel them and hold party-run caucuses instead, skipping out on the race for visitors and media attention. Resigned to the influence of states like New Hampshire and Iowa, some lawmakers are making financial concerns their priority, Politico...

Republican Hopefuls for 2012 Taking It Slow

Matt Cantor — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:38:05 CST

Five Republicans had filed to run for the presidential nomination at this time four years ago; right now, there isn’t one. We can’t expect any formal declarations until February at the earliest, reports the Wall Street Journal . Why? For one thing, the first primaries won’t happen until a month later...

Palin in Iowa, Sparking 2012 Speculation

Nick McMaster — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:49:00 CDT

Sarah Palin will deliver the keynote address at the Iowa Republican Party's Ronald Reagan Dinner tonight, an engagement widely seen as a possible step toward a 2012 presidential bid, the Washington Post reports. The dinner is an early hurdle for prospective GOP candidates, and Palin's influence is at a high...

Palin Will Be the 2012 Nominee

Kevin Spak — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:39:19 CST

She may be hugely polarizing, but Sarah Palin’s the odds-on favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, thanks to the party’s winner-take-all primary system. The party establishment may not want Palin, but if she can maintain, say, 35% support in a multi-candidate field, she could win a few...

Biggest Media Gaffes of 2008

Kristina Loew — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:30:01 CST

Politico runs down a list of some of the worst media mistakes of 2008: New Hampshire primary: Just about everyone predicted Hillary would lose by double digits, ending her campaign. Not even close. McCain-Iseman: The long-awaited New York Times story alleging an improper relationship between McCain and a lobbyist had...