New Gallup 2012 Poll: No front-runner among Republican presidential hopefuls

A new nationwide Gallup poll of Republican voters shows Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee leading the pack of 14 potential candidate's for the party's 2012 presidential nomination. Here is a quick summary of the results;

Mitt Romney 19%

Sarah Palin 16%

Mike Huckabee 16%

Newt Gingrich 13%

Ron Paul 6%

The rest of the pack came in at below 5%: Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour, John Thune, Mike Pence, Rick Santorum, Mitch Daniels, Gary Johnson, and Chris Christy.

Perhaps most telling is the fact that a total of 16 percent of those surveyed opted to answer "other" or "none/no opinion". The early stages of the race may underway already, but most voters aren't tuned in just yet.

George Pataki may run for president in 2012 - Video

He served as New York's governor for three terms and now he's taking aim at the White House. Republican George Pataki says he's considering a run for President in 2012, joining the already swelling ranks of potential GOP presidential candidates. He also poked fun at Sarah Palin, joking that his experience as the Mayor of the small town of Peeksill made him him more qualified for the job than the one-time Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

Sarah Palin responds to 2012 question - Video

Are you going to run for President? Sarah Palin fielded that question during an October 2010 interview with Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart. Her response was classic Palin. "I haven't made up my mind yet," she told Hart, adding the decision would entail a lengthy discussion with her family. Does this mean that the topic hasn't come around the dinner table yet?

"... if there is nobody else to do it then of course I would believe that we should do this," Palin went on to say. Well Sarah, there are plenty of people willing to "do this". More than ten Republicans are mulling over a run for the White House in 2012, according to some analysts. Does that mean that 2012 will be Palin-free? You'll have to break out the secret decoder ring to answer that question. Try as I might, I just can't decipher Palin-speak.

Judd Gregg For President 2012?

James Pindell of WMUR's Political Scoop has published a new list ranking the Republicans who might run in the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary. Among them is our very own Judd Gregg. Gregg's decision to give up his seat in the U.S. Senate has prompted speculation that he might be planning a run for the White House. Will he run?

It is worth noting that Gregg's announced his retirement in the early months of 2009. At the time, Gregg was the only New Hampshire Republican left in Washington. The GOP had lost control of both of the state's House seats in 2006 and one Senate seat in 2010. It would have been hard for Gregg to predict that the blue wave that came crashing over the Granite State in 2006 and 2008 would come rolling back so quickly. If he'd had a crystal ball, he might have run again.

Gregg leapt into the national spotlight in April of 2009 when he was nominated to serve as President Obama's Secretary of Commerce. He initially accepted the nomination, then pulled a hasty about face at a highly publicized press conference. Some considered the move to be a sure sign that Gregg had higher ambitions than Commerce Secretary and might even challenge Obama for the presidency in 2012. Others called the move tactless and bizarre. Either way, if Gregg does run he's sure to face some tough questions about the incident on the campaign trail. If you listen hard enough, one can almost here the chants of "Flip flop!" already....

Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin: Early Republican Frontrunners For 2012 Nomination

A series of polls released by Public Policy Polling (PPP) have Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin looking like early frontrunners in race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Here's how the race is shaping up in in a number of key states:

Mitt Romney is ranked #1 in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, and New Hampshire

Sarah Palin has the lead in Maine, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Mike Huckabee is the favorite in Illinois and Pennsylvania

Tim Pawlenty enjoys a narrow lead in his home state of Minnesota

With most of the leading candidates yet to make it official, these polls provide a valuable reference point for maybe-runs like Sarah Palin.

Mike Huckabee and the 2012 New Hampshire Primary

A new CNN poll released two days after the 2010 mid-term elections shows Mike Huckabee leading the pack of potential GOP presidential candidates for 2012. So how would Huckabee fare in New Hampshire's first in the nation primary?

Huckabee handily won the Iowa Caucuses in 2008, but then came in a distant third place in New Hampshire. It wasn't even close. Official election results show that John McCain racked up more than 88,000 votes. Mitt Romney got over 75,000. Only around 26,000 voters cast ballots for Huckabee.

It may be the Huckabee never saw his victory in the Iowa caucus coming and lacked the resources to mount the kind of long term grassroots campaign needed to be successful in New Hampshire. Or it could be that Granite State voters simply prefer moderate candidates like McCain, who won here in both of the last two competitive GOP primaries. Either way, Republican voters will have to choose a different candidate this time around, because McCain's not running.

Rick Santorum attends Politics and Eggs in New Hampshire

Rick Santorum visited New Hampshire today to headline "Politics and Eggs", according to CNN. The trip comes just days after Republicans scored major victories in the Granite State in the 2010 mid-term elections.

The New Hampshire Political Library and New England Council describe the "Eggs and Politics" series as a "must-stop" for any presidential candidate. Santorum has been making a lot of "must-stop" visits to New Hampshire lately, visiting the state a total of six times this year. If Santorum does decide to run for president in 2012, we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the Granite State.