| | The '''Presidential Election 2012''' is on Tuesday, November 6, when the [[United States]] elects a president. [[Obama]], with his [[Barack Obama approval ratings|declining popularity]], is unlikely to win reelection unless he can carry [[Florida]], which he only narrowly won last time. The Republican nominee will likely be decided by the key early primaries in [[Iowa]] ([[caucus]]es), [[New Hampshire]], [[Nevada]] ([[caucus]]es), and [[South Carolina]].<ref>The order of the early primaries is not yet finally determined as of the end of 2010. For estimated dates, see http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P12/events.phtml?s=c</ref> | | The '''Presidential Election 2012''' is on Tuesday, November 6, when the [[United States]] elects a president. [[Obama]], with his [[Barack Obama approval ratings|declining popularity]], is unlikely to win reelection unless he can carry [[Florida]], which he only narrowly won last time. The Republican nominee will likely be decided by the key early primaries in [[Iowa]] ([[caucus]]es), [[New Hampshire]], [[Nevada]] ([[caucus]]es), and [[South Carolina]].<ref>The order of the early primaries is not yet finally determined as of the end of 2010. For estimated dates, see http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P12/events.phtml?s=c</ref> |
| − | For the Republican nomination, "[[stalking horse]]" candidates and endorsers are being used, as in 2008 when [[Fred Thompson]] and [[Mike Huckabee]] prevented [[Mitt Romney]] from winning. This time Mitt Romney has [[Rick Santorum]], [[Chris Christie]] and probably [[Tim Pawlenty]] on his side ("[[Team Mitt]]"), while [[Newt Gingrich]] likely has on his side [[Mike Huckabee]], [[neoconservatives]], the [[Fox News Channel]], [[WSJ]] and a few pro-life groups ("[[Team Newt]]"). [[Sarah Palin]] may draw support away from Newt. | + | For the Republican nomination, [[Rick Santorum]] and [[Chris Christie]] will probably endorse [[Mitt Romney]], while [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Tim Pawlenty]] will compete for endorsement by [[neoconservatives]] and also [[pro-life]] groups. [[Sarah Palin]] could compete with [[Michele Bachmann]] for the large bloc of evangelical voters, particularly in [[Iowa]]. |