March 21, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won the March 20 Illinois Republican primary for the nomination for president of the United States. The former Massachusetts governor won decisively, taking 46.7 percent of the vote. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum came in second with 35 percent. Texas Representative Ron Paul came in third with 9.3 percent of the vote, while Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House, took fourth place with only 8 percent. A voter turnout of only 24 percent made this Illinois’s lowest turnout for a presidential primary in 70 years.

The win follows Romney’s overwhelming victory in the Puerto Rico primary on March 18, in which he took all of the territory’s 20 delegates. Romney had 522 delegates going into the Illinois primary and will take at least 41 of that state’s 54 delegates. He thus widened his lead over Santorum (who will take at least 10 of the Illinois delegates, adding to his previous total of 252) as the candidates head into the Louisiana primary on March 24.

Mitt Romney won the Puerto Rico and Illinois Republican primary elections, putting him well ahead of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum in the delegate count. (Courtesy of Abby Brack, Romney for President, Inc.)

March 13, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum won both the Alabama and Mississippi Republican primaries on March 12. The former senator from Pennsylvania took 35 percent of the vote in Alabama, compared with the 29 percent scored by both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. In Mississippi, Santorum received 33 percent of the vote, compared with 31 percent for Gingrich and 30 percent for Romney.

Rick Santorum (U.S. Senate)

Political experts suggested that with these victories, Rick Santorum can now claim to be Romney’s only credible rival for the nomination. However, Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, still has a commanding lead in the delegate count in the race to the Republican convention in August–494 out of the 1,144 needed. By comparison, Santorum has 251, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has 131, and Congressman Ron Paul has 48.

Additional World Book article

• Tempest in a Tea Party (a special report)
• 2008 Election: A Pivotal Choice (a special report)

March 12, 2012

Rick Santorum decisively won the Kansas caucuses on Saturday, March 10, picking up at least 33 delegates in the race for the 2012 Republican nonimation for president of the United States. With 51 percent of the vote, the former senator from Pennsylvania handily outdistanced rivals Mitt Romney, at 21 percent; Newt Gingrich, at 14 percent; and Ron Paul, at 12 percent.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. U.S. Senate

Despite his win, however, Santorum continued to trail far behind Romney in the delegate count. On Saturday, Romney won 6 delegates in the Wyoming caucuses as well as 25 delegates from Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, bringing his delegate total to 377, according to NBC News. With 146 delegates, Santorum leads Gingrich, who has 112, and Paul, who has 31. Romney himself was still far short of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination and go on to challenge President Barack Obama in the November election.

March 7, 2012

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won 5 of the 10 “Super Tuesday” state primary contests in his bid for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. As expected, he handily took his home state of Massachusetts, as well as Alaska, Idaho, Vermont, and Virginia. He also took the swing state of Ohio, but just barely–with 38 percent of the vote, compared with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s 37 percent. Santorum won in North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich took his home state of Georgia, essentially putting himself back in the race.

Mitt Romney Abby Brack, Romney for President, Inc.

Of the delegates up for grabs in the 10 races, Romney captured 211, compared with Santorum’s 84. Romney now leads with 415 delegates committed to backing him at the Republican national convention in Tampa, Florida, in August. He needs 1,144 delegates to win the nomination and go on to challenge President Barack Obama in November. A Washington Post/ABC News poll shows only 35 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Romney, compared with 32 percent for Rick Santorum and Representative Ron Paul and 23 percent for Newt Gingrich.

Rick Santorum U.S. Senate

Feb. 29, 2012

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on February 28 won both the Michigan and Arizona primaries for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. In Michigan, Romney took 41 percent of the vote, compared with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s 38 percent. Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich came in third and fourth with 12 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Romney’s win was more decisive in Arizona with 47 percent of the vote, compared with Santorum’s 27 percent. Gingrich came in third with 16 percent and Paul fourth with 8 percent.

Political experts noted that the Romney camp considered Michigan, where Romney was born and grew up, vital to the future viability of his campaign. Ten states vote on March 6–Super Tuesday–but most experts doubt that Romney will take enough of these states to become the clear winner.

Mitt Romney won both the Michigan and Arizona primaries for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.

Feb. 8, 2012

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum stunned his three competitors for the Republican presidential nomination by winning the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses and the Missouri primary on February 7.

In Minnesota, Santorum took 44.8 percent of the vote, compared with Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s 27 percent and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 16.9 percent. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich came in fourth with 10.7 percent.

Santorum won the Missouri primary with 55 percent of the vote, well ahead of Romney’s 25 percent and Paul’s 12 percent. Gingrich was not on the ballot in Missouri.

Former Senator Richard J. Santorum won Republican presidential primaries in Colorado, Minnesota, and Minneapolis. U.S. Senate

The vote was closer in Colorado.  Santorum polled 40 percent, and Romney finished with nearly 35 percent. Gingrich and Paul took 12.8 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively.

Political experts again raised the question about the supposed front-runner–Mitt Romney: Will a candidate from Massachusetts who was once considered a political moderate ever be an acceptable standard-bearer for a Republican Party increasingly dominated by highly conservative tea party activists and evangelical Christians?

Feb. 1, 2012

Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, won a resounding victory in the Florida Republican presidential primary on January 31 with 46 percent of the vote. Although former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich took only 29 percent of the vote, he declared that he has no intention of dropping out. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul trailed with 13 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

The campaign in Florida was characterized by a series of personal-attack television ads between the front-runners, which political experts suggest left both Romney and Gingrich bloodied. Romney spent at least $16 million on some 13,000 TV ads attacking the former speaker’s character and suitability. Gingrich ran around 200 ads attacking the way Romney made his multimillion-dollar fortune.

Mitt Romney won the Republican presidential primary in Florida. Abby Brack, Romney for President, Inc.

Jan. 23, 2012

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich won the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina on January 21. Just 10 days after he finished a distant third in New Hampshire, Gingrich took 40 percent of the vote in South Carolina. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who was widely seen as the frontrunner, came in a distant second with 28 percent. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Representative Ron Paul trailed with 17 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Political experts noted that Gingrich owed his victory to evangelical Christians and Tea party activists, and to people who refer to themselves as “very conservative”–groups long resistant to Mitt Romney, whom they do not consider a true conservative.

Just days before losing in South Carolina, Mitt Romney also lost “officially” in Iowa. On January 19, the Iowa state Republican Party chairman, Matt Strawn, announced that Santorum, not Romney, had won the Iowa caucuses. While the former Massachusetts governor had been declared the winner by 8 votes on January 3, the final count had Santorum ahead by 34 votes.

Republican Representative Newt Gingerich (left) and Senator Robert J. Dole celebrate their party's victory in the 1994 elections that gave Republicans control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1955. Gingrich became speaker of the House and Dole became Senate majority leader. AP/Wide World

Gingrich was a highly controversial speaker of the House. In 1997, the House reprimanded (to reprove severely or formally) Gingrich for unlawfully using tax-exempt foundation money to promote his agenda and for lying about it under oath to the House Ethics Committee. The reprimand was the first for a speaker in Congressional history, and he was fined $300,000. After Republicans lost House seats in the 1998 elections, dissatisfaction with Gingrich’s leadership grew. He resigned as speaker and from Congress in early 1999.

Additional World Book articles:

• Back in Time 1995 (Congress of the United States)
• Back in Time 1996 (Congress of the United States)
• Back in Time 1997 (Congress of the United States)
• Back in Time 1999 (Congress of the United States)

Jan. 11, 2012

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney handily won yesterday’s New Hampshire Republican presidential primary election with 39.2 percent of the vote. Texas Congressman Ron Paul placed second with 22.9 percent; in the Iowa caucuses on January 3, Paul came in a close third with 21.4 percent. After taking just 0.6 percent of the vote in Iowa, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman garnered 16.9 percent in New Hampshire. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum essentially tied for fourth place in New Hampshire with approximately 10 percent. In Iowa, Santorum came in second, just eight votes behind front runner Romney. Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who did not campaign in New Hampshire, trailed yesterday with only 1 percent of the vote; he took 10.3 percent of the total in Iowa.

Former Massachsetts Governor Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary election on January 10. Abby Brack, Romney for President, Inc.

The next Republican presidential primary is in South Carolina on January 21, followed by Florida on January 31. Political experts predict Romney will have the nomination sewed up after the Florida vote.

Additional World Book articles

• Congress of the United States
• President of the United States

Jan. 4, 2012

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won yesterday’s Iowa Republican presidential caucuses by a hair. Taking 24.6 percent of the poll, he beat former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum by only eight votes. The outcome gives Santorum, a favorite among evangelical Christian voters, a chance to emerge as the alternative to Romney in the New Hampshire and South Carolina presidential primary elections later this month. Representative Ron Paul of Texas came in a close third with 21.4 percent of the vote; former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich received 13.3 percent; Governor Rick Perry of Texas took 10.3 percent; and Representative Michele Bachman of Minnesota, a favorite of the Tea Party movement, came in sixth with 5 percent.

Mitt Romney wins the Iowa caucuses. Abby Brack, Romney for President, Inc.

Saying that the people of Iowa “spoke with a very clear voice,” Michele Bachmann announced today that she was pulling out of the race. Late on January 3, Governor Perry announced  that he planned to return to Texas to “assess” his candidacy.

President Barack Obama ran unopposed in Iowa’s Democratic presidential caucus.

Additional World Book articles

• Congress of the United States
• President of the United States