2012 Presidential Campaign Blog

Strategic National Releases New Poll of NH Republican Primary Voters Romney 1st, Huckabee 2nd, Palin 3rd, & Gingrich 4th.

Strategic National Releases New Poll of New Hampshire Republican Primary Voters
Romney 1st, Huckabee 2nd, Palin 3rd, & Gingrich 4th.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- A newly released poll of New Hampshire primary voters from political consulting firm Strategic National puts Mitt Romney on top, and also reveals the disconnect that many voters see between modern Science and religious Faith.

Gov. Romney finished first, with 33.5% of the respondents naming him their first choice.  Suprisingly, Gov. Mike Huckabee came in second, with nearly 14% support, finishing ahead of Gov. Sarah Palin who had 13% support among Primary voters.  Also included in the poll were Speaker Newt Gingrich 9% , Gov. Tim Pawlenty 5%, Governor Mitch Daniels 2%, Rick Santorum 1%, Gov. Haley Barbour 1%, and Sen. Senator John Thune <1%.

“Governor Romney has an early lead in the 1st in the nation primary state”, said John Yob, CEO of Strategic National.  “Governor Huckabee and Governor Palin also show strength in a state that tradionally supports more moderate candidates.”

John Yob ran national political operations for John McCain in the Presidential Primaries in 2008 and served as Senior Advisor for Rick Snyder in Michigan and Sharron Angle in Nevada in 2010.

Strategic National surveyed a random sample of New Hampshire Republican primary voters.  The statewide, automated poll had a total of 940 respondents, 52% female and 48% male.  It was conducted on January 19, 2010, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.2%.

Rick Santorum Returns To Iowa Today To Speak At Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

Rick Santorum Returns To Iowa Today To Speak At Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

Washington, DC – Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)  will make his ninth visit to Iowa today and tomorrow.  During this trip, Senator Santorum will have several media interviews and private meetings with grassroots activists.  He will also speak at the 5th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit, which is open to media. 

Tuesday, January 25 at 4:00 PM CT

Former Senator Santorum will address the 5th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit at the Polk County Convention Complex in downtown Des Moines at 4:00 PM CT.

Location:

Polk County Convention Complex
501 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309


Wednesday, January 26 at 9:00 AM CT

Senator Santorum will join Jan Mickelson on WHO Newsradio 1040 at 9:00 AM CT.

Tm Pawlenty Freedom First PAC's "Courage to Stand" Video Transcript #tpaw

Tm Pawlenty Freedom First PAC's "Courage to Stand" New Video Transcript:

The United States of America is the most successful nation the world is ever known and I think that's largely because we're the freest nation.

Humans cannot reach their potential cannot realizetheir dreams unless they're free.

If prosperity were easy, everybody around the world would be prosperous.  If freedom were easy, everybody around the world would be free.  If security were easy, everybody around the world would be secure.  They are not.  None of this is gonna be easy, but this is the United States of America.  I

t takes an extraordinary effort, it takes extraordinary commitment, it takes extraordinary strength. Valley Forge wasn't easy. Going to the moon wasn't easy. Settling the West wasn't easy.

We are the American people.

We have seen difficulties before and we always overcome them.   This is about rolling up our sleeves, and we're going to have some differences but Americans are about getting it done.

Reagan "Centennial" Debate, The First Of the 2012 Campaign Season, To Be Held May 2, 2011 At The Reagan Library

DATE ANNOUNCED FOR FIRST GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE OF THE 2012 SEASON
REAGAN "CENTENNIAL" DEBATE TO BE TELEVISED ON MSNBC, TELEMUNDO, CNBC, AND LIVESTREAMED ON POLITICO
NBC NEWS' BRIAN WILLIAMS AND POLITICO'S JOHN F. HARRIS TO CO-MODERATE

Simi Valley, CA – The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation announced today that May 2, 2011 is the date for the Republican presidential candidates’ debate being held at the Reagan Library. The Reagan Foundation also announced a host of details about the first Republican debate of the 2012 campaign season, including a roster of some of the nation's top journalists from NBC News, POLITICO and Telemundo to take part in the questioning.

“We have established a wonderful tradition – of which I know Ronnie would be so proud – of using the Library as a first-in-the-nation forum for candidates to introduce themselves and their visions for America to a national audience,” former First Lady Nancy Reagan said.

The Reagan Library, in Simi Valley, California, was also the venue for the first Republican debate of the 2008 campaign cycle. Mrs. Reagan and the Presidential Foundation announced last fall the plan to host the candidates as the 2012 campaign season begins.

In addition to the date of this year’s gathering — selected by the Presidential Foundation after consultation with national Republicans — there are several important features of the Library Debate announced by Mrs. Reagan today:

*Brian Williams, anchor of the top-rated NBC Nightly News, will be co-moderator, along with POLITICO Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris, a presidential scholar and one of the nation's top political journalists. A Telemundo reporter will also join in the questioning.

*NBC News and POLITICO will be joined by Telemundo and CNBC in airing the debate. This will mark the first time a news organization aimed at Hispanic Americans and the nation’s leading business news network will join in the inaugural debate of a presidential campaign season.
*The debate will air on MSNBC, POLITICO.com, CNBC and Telemundo.

The Reagan Presidential Foundation plans to play host to both the first GOP presidential debate of the 2012 election cycle on May 2, 2011 and a second GOP debate on the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Ronald Reagan's legacy of inspired freedom and his timeless principles of individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy, and national pride. It sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the Reagan Center for Public Affairs, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center and The Air Force One Pavilion. Located in Simi Valley, California the Library houses 63 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal papers and over 60,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. It now also serves as the final resting place of America’s 40th President.
www.reaganfoundation.org

NBC News has been a leading source of global news and information for more than 75 years. Operating around the clock with bureaus in key cities in the U.S. and overseas, NBC News provides immediate coverage and in-depth reporting of major events to a worldwide audience. Telemundo, the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, reaches 93% of Hispanic and Latino American households. CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 390 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada.

POLITICO is a Washington, D.C.-based political journalism organization that serves as the one-stop shop for the fastest, most in-depth coverage of the president, the new Congress and the 2012 presidential race. POLITICO’s journalists break news and drive conversation about the White House, Capitol Hill and Washington lobbying, plus the intersection of politics with Wall Street, media and personalities. POLITICO launched in January of 2007 with the mission of covering politics with enterprise, style and impact.

Results: WMUR, ABC News, NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll » WMUR Political Scoop Romney 1st 35% Pawlenty 3rd 8% Bachmann 5th 5%

Results: WMUR, ABC News, NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll » WMUR Political Scoop

Romney Wins New Hampshire Republican Party Committee Straw Poll - The Note

“In the first ever "straw poll" of New Hampshire Republican party committee members sponsored by ABC News and WMUR and sanctioned by the state Republican party, ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took 35 percent of the 276 valid ballots cast.” by Amy Walter

Romney Wins New Hampshire Republican Party Committee Straw Poll - The Note

A Newt Gingrich presidential campaign out of Buckhead? | Political Insider

Newt Gingrich tells Georgia Republicans he’ll be a candidate in ‘12

January 21, 2011, by jgalloway

”In the last 24 hours, former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich has touched base with several prominent Republicans in his former home state, telling them that he intends to make a run for president in 2012 using Georgia as his base – and that he already has his eye on office space in Buckhead for a campaign headquarters.”

A Newt Gingrich presidential campaign out of Buckhead? | Political Insider

The FAMiLY LEADER To Sponsor Presidential Lecture Series Beginning February 7, 2011

The FAMiLY LEADER TO SPONSOR PRESIDENTIAL LECTURE SERIES BEGINNING FEBRUARY 7, 2011. Presidential Forum Also Announced

Pleasant Hill, IA - The FAMiLY LEADER announced today at a press conference that it will host a Presidential Lecture Series featuring prominent national political figures.
 
Each month, beginning February 7 through August 1, a nationally-known figure will fly to three Iowa campus locations in a single day. Each national figure will be exposed to a roundtable of community leaders followed by a short lecture open to the public. The lectures will be delivered at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Pella Christian High School in Pella, and the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
 
The series line-up begins with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty on Monday, February 7. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and businessman and radio host Herman Cain have also made commitments to participate. Other invited speakers include former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, South Dakota Senator John Thune, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and Indiana Representative Mike Pence.
 
“Iowans play a vital role in hosting the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus, and it is our privilege to offer this Presidential Lecture Series in order to provide our very influential base an opportunity to gain insight into our political process,” said Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The FAMiLY LEADER. “Our base is serious about its role in the political process and the Presidential Lecture Series is a focused strategy to facilitate meaningful exposure to our constituents.”
 
The primary purpose of the Presidential Lecture Series is to provide these national figures with a pre-planned, full day in Iowa to introduce them to the Grassroots and to allow citizens an opportunity to become better informed on policy-making . The lectures will be videotaped, emailed to our comprehensive database and posted on The FAMiLY LEADER website to allow all interested citizens the opportunity to hear or read the lectures.
 
The Presidential Lecture Series will culminate with a Presidential Forum/Debate on Saturday, November 19 at a location to be determined in central Iowa. The FAMiLY LEADER anticipates a crowd of more than a thousand potential caucus-goers. This important forum will be a strategic event in determining the ultimate Iowa caucus winner in February of 2012.

FEC Votes On Two Drafts Of An NPRM On Independent Expenditures And Electioneering Communications

FEC Votes On Two Drafts Of An NPRM On Independent Expenditures And Electioneering Communications

WASHINGTON – At its first open meeting of the year, the Federal Election Commission today voted on two drafts of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The Commission also approved the final audit report of a state party committee.

The Commission was unable to approve either of the two NPRM drafts on Independent Expenditures and Electioneering Communications by Corporations and Labor Organizations. The NPRM, if approved, would seek public comment on changes to the FEC’s rules regarding corporate and labor organization funding and reporting of expenditures, independent expenditures and electioneering communications. The two drafts addressed the following issues:

•Draft A addressed: 1) eliminating regulations that prohibit the use of corporate and labor organization general treasury funds to finance expenditures, independent expenditures and electioneering communications; 2) eliminating a regulation that permits corporations and labor organizations to make only electioneering communications that are not the functional equivalent of express advocacy; 3) eliminating prohibitive regulations regarding express advocacy in communications to the general public and revising the standards for voter registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) drives; 4) revising the Commission’s corporate facilitation rules and related conduit rule; 5) revising certain reporting requirements pertaining to independent expenditures and electioneering communications in order to provide comprehensive disclosure of such spending; and 6) revising the regulations governing financial participation by foreign nationals in the U.S. electoral process.

•Draft B addressed: 1) eliminating regulations that prohibit the use of corporate and labor organization general treasury funds to finance expenditures, independent expenditures and electioneering communications; 2) eliminating a regulation that permits corporations and labor organizations to make only electioneering communications that are not the functional equivalent of express advocacy; 3) eliminating prohibitive regulations regarding express advocacy in communications to the general public and revising the standards for voter registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) drives; and 4) revising the Commission’s corporate facilitation rules.

"I remain hopeful that the Commission will be able to reach consensus on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing corporate and labor union expenditures so that stakeholders and the general public have an opportunity to have their voices heard by the Commission,” said Commission Chair Cynthia L. Bauerly. “Today we saw that there continues to be disagreement between the members of the Commission over the proper scope of the proposed rulemaking. Nonetheless, I felt the discussion was positive and necessary towards finding common ground on this topic. ".

Mike Huckabee "A Simple Government" Book Signing Tour Schedule With Times, Dates, Locations

Mike Huckabee "A Simple Government" Book Signing Tour Schedule With Times, Dates, Locations

Date Sunday, Feb 27 2011
Location Davenport, IA 52807
Event Name SAM'S CLUB 3887 Elmore Avenue
Time  02:00PM

Date Sunday, Feb 27 2011
Location Dubuque, IA 52002
Event Name BORDERS 555 John F. Kennedy Road
Time  04:30PM

Date Sunday, Feb 27 2011
Location Waterloo, IA
Event Name BARNES & NOBLE
Time  07:30PM

Date Monday, Feb 28 2011
Location West Des Moines, IA 50265
Event Name BORDERS 4100 University Avenue Suite 115
Time  07:30PM

Date Monday, Feb 28 2011
Location Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
Event Name BARNES & NOBLE 333 Collins Road NE Building 1
Time   12:00PM

Date Tuesday, Mar 01 2011
Location Kansas City, MO 64118
Event Name SAM'S CLUB 5110 North Oak
Time   12:00PM

Date Tuesday, Mar 01 2011
Location Topeka, KS 66614
Event Name HASTINGS ENTERTAINMENT #9682 5317 S. W 22nd Place
Time  03:30PM

Date Tuesday, Mar 01 2011
Location Wichita, KS 67218
Event Name WATERMARK 4701 East Douglas
Time  07:30PM

Date Wednesday, Mar 02 2011
Location Tulsa, OK 74133
Event Name MARDEL  9725 East 71st Street
Time   12:00PM

Date Wednesday, Mar 02 2011
Location Edmund, OK 73034
Event Name BEST OF BOOKS 1313 East Danforth Road
Time   03:00PM

Date Thursday, Mar 03 2011
Location Wichita Falls, TX 76308
Event Name HASTINGS 2801 Southwest Parkway
Time  12:00PM

Date Thursday, Mar 03 2011
Location Sherman, TX 75092
Event Name BOOKS-A-MILLION 3404 Town Center Street
Time  03:30PM

Date Thursday, Mar 03 2011
Location Greenville, TX 75402
Event Name HASTINGS 5101 Wesley
Time  05:30PM

Date Thursday, Mar 03 2011
Location Cedar Hill, TX 75104
Event Name BARNES & NOBLE 305 West FM 1382
Time  08:00PM

Date Sunday, Mar 06 2011
Location Greensboro, NC 27407
Event Name COSTCO 4201 West Wendover Avenue
Time  02:00PM

Date Sunday, Mar 06 2011
Location Wilson, NC 27893
Event Name BOOKS-A-MILLION 2420 Forest Hills Road
Time  05:30PM

Date Sunday, Mar 06 2011
Location Fayetteville, NC 28314
Event Name BARNES & NOBLE  121 Glensford Road
Time  08:00PM

Date Monday, Mar 07 2011
Location Florence, SC
Event Name BARNES & NOBLE 2701 David McLeod Blvd.
Time  12:00PM

Date Monday, Mar 07 2011
Location Columbia, SC 29229
Event Name BOOKS-A-MILLION 164 Forum Drive
Time  04:00PM

Date Monday, Mar 07 2011
Location Anders, SC 29621
Event Name BOOKS-A-MILLION Anderson Mall, 3131 North Main St.
Time  08:00PM

Date Tuesday, Mar 08 2011
Location Greenville, SC 29607
Event Name BARNES & NOBLE The Shops at Greenridge
Time  12:00PM

Date Tuesday, Mar 08 2011
Location Spartanburg, SC 29301
Event Name COSTCO 211 West Blackstock Road
Time  05:00PM

Date Tuesday, Mar 08 2011
Location Asheville, NC 28805
Event Name BARNES & NOBLE 3 South Tunnel Road
Time  07:30PM

Date Wednesday, Mar 09 2011
Location Johnson City, TN 37604
Event Name SAM'S CLUB 3060 Franklin Terrace Drive
Time  12:00PM

Date Wednesday, Mar 09 2011
Location Kingsport, TN 37660
Event Name BAM 2626 East Stone Drive
Time  04:00PM

Date Wednesday, Mar 09 2011
Location Knoxville, TN 37919
Event Name BAM Walker Springs Shopping Center, 8507 Kingston Pike
Time  07:30PM

Date Thursday, Mar 10 2011
Location Cleveland, TN 37312
Event Name BAM 4560 Frontage Road
Time  12:00PM

Date Thursday, Mar 10 2011
Location Rome, GA 30161
Event Name B&N 1442 Turner-McCall Blvd
Time  04:30PM

Date Thursday, Mar 10 2011
Location Marietta, GA 30062
Event Name BORDERS 4475 Roswell Road, Ave E Cobb
Time  07:30PM

Date Sunday, Mar 13 2011
Location Tyler, TX 75701
Event Name HASTINGS 4015 South Broadway Avenue
Time  02:00PM

Date Sunday, Mar 13 2011
Location Longview, TX 75605
Event Name BARRON'S 405 Loop 281 West
Time  05:00PM

Date Sunday, Mar 13 2011
Location Shreveport, LA 71105
Event Name B&N 6646 Youree Drive
Time  07:30PM

Date Monday, Mar 14 2011
Location Biloxi, MS 39531
Event Name BAM 2600 Beach Boulevard
Time  07:30PM
 
Date Monday, Mar 14 2011
Location Alexandria, LA 71301
Event Name BAM 3660 North Boulevard
Time  11:00AM

Date Monday, Mar 14 2011
Location Baton Rouge, LA 70836
Event Name BORDERS 6401 Bluebonnet Blvd
Time  03:30PM