Rick Perry, Mitt Romney | featured news

Fresh from a foreign trip marked by a number of stumbles, Mitt Romney was back in his element late Thursday with 10 Republican governors in Basalt, Colo... New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer all accompanied Romney on his first day back campaigning in America since his trip overseas.

Gov. Rick Perry joined one other Republican governor and several GOP advisers in saying presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney should release his tax returns because transparency works best. “I’m a big believer that no matter who you are or what office you’re running for, you should be as transparent as you can be with your tax returns and other aspects of your life,” Perry said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry tonight has endorsed Mitt Romney for president. Perry threw his support to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich when he dropped out. Now, Gingrich is poised to quit.

Presidential candidate Rick Perry's criticism of Mitt Romney's business past had a boomerang effect Thursday, costing him the support of a prominent Republican in South Carolina. Investment fund executive and top GOP donor Barry Wynn told The Associated Press he was leaving the Perry fold to endorse Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Wynn said Perry's attacks on Romney's time at the helm of the private equity firm Bain Capital had crossed the line in a political party that values free-market capitalism.

In the past twelve hours the six men running for the Republican presidential nomination have debated not once but twice. We live-blogged both debates — the Saturday night set-to sponsored by ABC/WMUR and the “Meet the Press” debate this morning. Below is our combined winners and losers from the two debates. Agree or disagree? That is your right; this country is all about liberty. (Ron Paul homage!) The comments section is open for business.

After a campaign effort that has defied convention and angered top Iowa Republicans, Mitt Romney is well-positioned to emerge as a big winner in Tuesday's presidential caucuses. The tightest GOP caucus contest in decades features Romney, Ron Paul and a fading Newt Gingrich in a virtual tie for the lead, making the final days of politicking unusually consequential. And another candidate, Rick Perry or Rick Santorum, could get hot at the end and knock one of the favorites out of the top three.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads GOP voters overall with 27%, but he is still having a hard time wooing conservatives, who are more enthusiastic about businessman Herman Cain. A collapse in support for Texas Gov. Rick Perry has left Mitt Romney as the clear front-runner in California's Republican presidential primary, but the former Massachusetts governor is still struggling to rally the party's most conservative voters, a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll has found.

Perry, who struggled in his previous debate performances, was talking about the three departments that he would cut to curb the size of the federal government. He named two — Education and Commerce — but for an excruciating period searched his mind for the third, as competitors tried to help him out.

Mitt Romney's campaign is reportedly paying for automated calls in Iowa that hit GOP presidential rival Rick Perry on illegal immigration.

Today it's about dueling GOP presidential endorsements as Rick Perry touts the backing he's getting from Steve Forbes and Mitt Romney boasts support from former New Hampshire governor John Sununu.