2012 Presidential Election, Republican Presidential Candidate | featured news

Despite a new rival's surge, Mitt Romney is campaigning as though he's still the GOP presidential front-runner, focusing his criticisms on President Barack Obama, taking few risks and keeping most proposals vague enough to leave ample maneuvering room....

Perry leads Mitt Romney by 12 percentage points, 29%-17%, the poll showed. Texas Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, places third with 13%.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Tuesday shot down speculation that she is close to deciding whether to jump into the 2012 presidential race, after talk that she would announce her plans during the Labor Day holiday weekend in early September.

Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman says he'd be open to running as vice president if rival and tea party favorite Michele Bachmann wins the nomination. The former ambassador to China and ex-Utah governor says that every time he's been asked to serve his country he's answered "yes." Huntsman tells CNN interviewer Piers Morgan that if asked by the Minnesota congresswoman to run as her vice president he'd "be the first person to sign up, absolutely."

The Wisconsin congressman released a statement to quiet the speculation that he would seek the Republican nomination.

Karl Rove said Sunday he thinks former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will get into the Republican presidential contest. Mr. Rove, the top political adviser in the George W. Bush administration, said Mrs. Palin’s appearances earlier this month in Iowa look “more like a candidate’s schedule than that of a celebrity.”

Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is pounding away at rival Rick Perry's skepticism of man-made global warming and criticism of the nation's central banker, saying those stands hurt the Republican Party.

Michele Bachmann botched Elvis' birth date (oops, she singled out the day the King died) this week, after previously confusing the birthplace of a movie icon (John Wayne) with that of a serial killer (John Wayne Gacy). And the news played big, on the Web and cable TV.

Despite his army of grassroots supporters and a strong finish in the Iowa straw poll, the media are ignoring the "Ron Paul Revolution," the presidential hopeful says - and a new study suggests he may be right.

For presidential hopefuls in a campaign that is all about the U.S. economy, the Republican contenders have offered few clear plans for what they would do to get the country's finances back on track.