WILLOUGHBY — This state’s Super Tuesday primary is proving to be the perfect microcosm of the nation’s unruly race for the Republican presidential nomination: Mitt Romney is spending lots of money, Rick Santorum is aggressively courting conservatives and Newt Gingrich is counting on big ideas to swing votes his way.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — The Republican presidential contenders on Monday campaigned their way into the first of two debates before a pivotal weekend primary in South Carolina, with Mitt Romney savoring an endorsement from the latest campaign dropout and his pursuers struggling to emerge as the race’s principal conservative.
McALLEN, Texas — Ron Paul, antagonist of the Federal Reserve and advocate for the gold standard, probably won’t capture the Republican presidential nomination. But with his libertarian leanings energizing a small though growing group of passionate conservatives, the quirky Texas congressman is proving to be a force in the 2012 contest.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Ron Paul, once seen as a fringe candidate and a nuisance to the establishment, is shaping the 2012 Republican primary by giving voice to the party’s libertarian wing and reflecting frustration with the United States’ international entanglements.