GOP Needs Its Brains Back

Ex-governors, ex-speaker in statistical dead heat

(NEWSER) - Believe it or not, Sarah Palin is not the preferred 2012 presidential nominee of most Tea Partiers. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich actually rated higher than the former Alaska governor among members of the fiscally conservative group in a recent CNN poll . Support for the three would-be candidates clustered within the poll's 7-point margin of error, meaning they are statistically tied. More»

Current Republican field riddled with weak spots

(NEWSER) - Republicans talk a good game about challenging President Obama in 2012, but the GOP would look scarier if it had even one legitimate challenger , says Dick Polman. "Obama's job-approval numbers are tepid these days—but he looks robust when matched against actual Republican challengers," warns the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist. "Not to mention the inevitable wounds and scars that any Republican will suffer during a primary season that promises to be downright Darwinian." More»

From Sanford to Ensign, Republican leaders are falling down

(NEWSER) - Mark Sanford caused the GOP enough of a headache when he disappeared—but coming back to South Carolina only made it worse. The second Republican sex scandal in a week has left party leaders angry and exhausted, reports the New York Times, and has them wondering whether they can mount a challenge to Barack Obama in 2012. "The concern here is that this continues a broader narrative that is completely unhelpful to the Republican Party’s rebuilding,"said one party leader. More»

(NEWSER) - A frontrunner has yet to emerge among Republican candidates for the 2012 presidential election, according to a new CNN poll. Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney are currently tied as the most popular potential candidate, each winning roughly 21% of support among those surveyed. They're trailed by Newt Gingrich with 13% and Jeb Bush at 6%. Romney said last week he wouldn’t “close the door” on a 2012 run. More»

Huckabee, Jindal among possible GOP candidates hitting trail in Iowa, elsewhere

(NEWSER) - Likely candidates for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination are playing it cool, but their feet tell a different story, Jonathan Martin writes for Politico. Mike Huckabee, for example, says 2012 is “way too far away” to think about, but his book tour has lots of stops in Iowa and South Carolina, aboard a campaign-style bus with his face on it. More»