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Republicans For 2012 - Page 3

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann on Saturday won the Ames Straw Poll, besting eight other Republican candidates in a non-binding but politically significant vote in the first caucus state of Iowa.

The Ames Straw Poll has helped take the pulse of a campaign's strength since 1979. It's also the first opportunity for voters to weigh in on a GOP candidate.

Nine of 11 announced Republican candidates are on the straw poll ballot. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman skipped the contest. Ref. CNN

Republicans

While the ongoing battle between front-runner Rick Perry and Mitt Romney will take center stage, six other Republican presidential candidates will try to gain ground in polls and fundraising in the first-ever CNN/Tea Party Debate at 8 p.m. ET in Tampa, Florida.

Perry, the Texas governor, and Romney, a businessman and former Massachusetts governor, have traded shots over Social Security and job creation since they tangled in a debate last week. Most expect second-tier candidates to go after the front-runners, or to at least get involved in the argument and raise their profile, especially Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has plummeted to single digits in most polls since she launched her campaign with a splash in a June debate. Ref. CNN

Republicans For 2012 History & Civil Business Politics

The Republican Party is split down the middle between tea party supporters and those who don't support the movement, a new CNN/ORC International poll suggests.

Forty-nine percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican say they support the tea party movement or are active members; 51% say that they have no feelings one way or another about the movement or that they oppose it.

Demographically, tea party Republicans are more likely to be male, older and college-educated; non-tea party Republicans are younger, less-educated, women and less likely to say they are born-again Christians or evangelicals.

On many issues, the two wings of the GOP are in accord, but they aren't in agreement on issues such as the deficit, global warming, evolution, abortion, same-sex marriage, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Education or Social Security. Ref. CNN

Page 3 Republicans

Perry vs. Romney = 2012 depression

Watching Perry and Romney bicker over who said what in their books was not exactly the inspiring talk conservatives want to hear. It's petty but worse it reveals that each have far too much in common with Barack Obama, leaving many conservatives feeling like it's prom and they don't have a date. How did Glenn react to the testy exchange? Ref. Source 5

Republicans

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign was dealt a worrying blow Saturday when he finished a distant second to businessman Herman Cain in a closely watched straw poll in Florida.

Cain won 37% of the 2,657 votes cast in the straw poll conducted at Presidency 5, a three-day convention sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida. Perry got just 410 votes, or 15.4%. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished third with 14%.

Perry was expected to win the straw poll as the weekend began, but his underwhelming performance at a GOP debate on Thursday night raised questions about his readiness for prime time. Ref. CNN

Republicans For 2012

Poll: Perry Leads Republicans, Romney Better Against Obama

The first new national poll following last week's third Republican presidential debate featuring pro-life Texas Gov. Rick Perry shows him still leading the GOP 2012 hopefuls. However, the survey has Mitt Romney as faring the best in a matchup against Barack Obama.

Perry is still at the top of the Republican list of presidential candidates despite turning in what most political observers believed was another lackluster debate performance. Still, the new CNN/ORC national poll finds Perry in front with the backing of 28 percent of Republican voters.

Romney comes in second with the support of 21 percent of Republicans, Newt Gingrich follows with the backing of 10 percent, Herman Cain enjoys the support of 7 percent, as does Ron Paul and Sarah Palin, who is not seeking the Republican nomination at this time. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is at four percent, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania receives three percent, and former Utah Gov. And ambassador to China Jon Huntsman is last at one percent.

Without Palin in the mix, the survey shows similar results: Perry would be at 30 percent, Romney 22%, Gingrich 11%, and the other candidates remain in single digits. The poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, after last Thursday's debate in Orlando, Florida.

"Did Perry's performance in the most recent debate affect the horse race? Maybe yes, but maybe no," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Perry's support is down just two points, and Romney is up only one to three points - and since all those numbers are well within the sampling error, it doesn't look like much has changed, possibly because average voters aren't as plugged into the debates as political junkies are. If the debates have had an effect, it may be mostly in favor of Gingrich, whose support went from 5 percent in mid-September to 10 percent now." Ref. Source 8

Republicans 2012 - Page 3

Florida is expected to hold its presidential primary on January 31, likely throwing the carefully arranged Republican nominating calendar into disarray, CNN has learned.

The move would jumpstart the nominating process a month earlier than GOP leaders had hoped and almost certainly force Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada to leapfrog Florida and move their primaries and caucuses into early- to mid-January.

"We are expecting to meet on Friday from 11 to 12, and I expect that they will pick January 31 as Florida's primary date," Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon said about a state commission exploring potential primary dates. Ref. CNN

Republicans 2012 Politics Business Civil & History - Page 3

I believe this fight will mainly be between Romney and Perry in the end now that Palin has said she won't run there aren't any front runners with enough popularity or resources.