Re-election | featured news

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) announced Wednesday morning that she will run for her fourth term in 2012. “I’m looking forward to coming back and bringing a strong, powerful voice to Washington, D.C.,” Bachmann told the Associated Press. The former presidential candidate’s future plans had been in some doubt. Redistricting could make her 6th district seat more competitive, and she spent much of the year in Iowa proclaiming herself “an Iowa girl” — not so helpful for winning an election in Minnesota.

President Obama will accept the Democratic presidential nomination at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, a campaign official confirms to CBS News chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell.

President Obama's re-election campaign has taken out big ads on the website of the Des Moines Register that dig at Republicans on caucus day... "The Republican candidates are leaving Iowa. But their terrible plans are here to stay," proclaims the ad, which takes you to a page to sign up with the Obama-Biden re-election campaign.

Leaving behind a year of bruising legislative battles, President Barack Obama enters his fourth year in office having calculated that he no longer needs Congress to promote his agenda and may even benefit in his re-election campaign if lawmakers accomplish little in 2012....

The mood in camp Obama is picking up these days, with the president’s poll numbers inching northward and Republicans mired in what could turn out to be a prolonged, expensive battle for the GOP nomination.

President Barack Obama's campaign set a goal of raising $60 million in the fourth quarter of the year to benefit the Democratic incumbent's re-election and the Democratic National Committee, a campaign official said on Saturday.

With an eye on recruiting volunteers, President Barack Obama is launching the first TV ads of his re-election campaign. Campaign officials said Tuesday the ad buy is "tiny" on national satellite TV stations but aimed at learning whether television is a good way to find volunteers. In the two 30-second ads, Obama urges viewers to call a number on the screen or visit the website , which invites people to enter their email address and zip code to become involved with the campaign. www.JoinObama.com

Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts does not intend to seek re-election in 2012, his office said Monday, closing out a career of more than three decades in Congress capped by last year's passage of legislation imposing new regulations on Wall Street.

The 2008 election was a reminder of the demographic forces that are changing America and potentially the political balance in the country. The most diverse electorate in the nation’s history added to the favorable winds that pushed President Obama to victory. He will need the assistance of those shifts even more in 2012 if he is to avoid defeat.

He shouldn't have to concede any states for lack of money – and he already has raised more than his Republican rivals combined. His approval ratings are down and the economic recovery is sputtering. But President Obama brings to the 2012 campaign one strategic advantage that previous Democratic presidential candidates would have envied: the money to compete everywhere.