presidential primaries

(Newser) - A poor showing in today's Florida primary could scuttle Rudy Giuliani’s campaign, his chairman admitted yesterday. "If he is second or first, he certainly has momentum. But if he finishes third, it's going to be hard to get momentum,” Houston lawyer Pat Oxford told the Dallas Morning News . Giuliani is touting himself as an odds-defying guy, but he's far behind John McCain and Mitt Romney in polls. More »

(Newser) - Prime-time journalists have asked this year’s presidential candidates 2,975 questions, just six of which mentioned climate change, according to one conservation group’s tally. That puts global warming just ahead of UFOs (mentioned three times) in frequency, Salon reports. “We’ve gone through the longest primary in our history,” said one advocate, yet “these reporters are ignoring the most pressing issue.” More »

(Newser) - Candidates are taking a much closer look than they used to at the arcane art of winning delegates, not states, in this year’s presidential primaries, reports the New York Times . For the first time in 20 years, the headline-grabbing early races haven’t determined the national outcome, and candidates now face a complex and costly race to win delegates district by district. More »

(Newser) - Despite record fund-raising, top presidential hopefuls in both parties have blown almost all of their cash, the New York Times reports. Efforts to knock out opponents early have cost candidates at least $320 million, or 80% of what they have raised. With Super Tuesday fast approaching, “there is definitely some belt-tightening,” said one Barack Obama spokesman. Unless, of course, if you have Mitt Romney’s vast personal fortune. More »

(Newser) - Riding a record turnout of young, independent and new voters, Barack Obama decisively won the Democratic caucuses in Iowa last night, with John Edwards narrowly edging out Hillary Clinton for second. With all Democratic precincts reporting, Obama, aiming to be the first black president of the United States, prevailed with a commanding 38%; Edwards took 30% and Clinton 29%, CNN reports. More »

(Newser) - A standoff in Congress will force the agency that doles out federal campaign dollars and polices political spending to go dark on New Year's Eve—just in time for the start of the primaries, the Washington Post reports. The Federal Election Commission needs four votes from its six members to take any action; as of January 1, it'll only have two members. More »

(Newser) - Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are dead even in New Hampshire, according to the latest USA Today /Gallup poll. The two are tied at 32%, with John Edwards a distant third at 18% and no other Democratic candidates in double digits. Like Clinton, Republican Mitt Romney has seen his lead in the state shrink as well, although he's still ahead of John McCain. More »