Republican party chair predicts "battle royale" in South Carolina
Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum over a flag of South Carolina.
/ CBS/iStockphoto/GettySouth Carolina Republican party chair Chad Connelly said Iowa and New Hampshire tend to play nice, but voters in the Palmetto state "are used to the fights."
About $5 million in television ad buys were placed Monday, Connelly said, although he did not have the details of the expenditures. The super PAC "Restore Our Future," which is backing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, has purchased $2.3 million worth of ad time. And a pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC, "Winning Our Future," has bought an additional $3.4 million worth of television ads on behalf of the former House speaker. Connelly expects an additional $15-$20 million worth of advertising to be purchased before the January 21 primary.
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George H.W. Bush "unofficially" endorses Romney
Former President George H.W. Bush gives a smile to crowd after he was on the video screen during a baseball game between the Milwauakee Brewers and Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on April 30, 2011 in Houston, Texas.
/ Bob Levey/Getty Images"I think Romney is the best choice for us," Mr. Bush told the Houston Chronicle. He then addressed a fellow Texan in the presidential race, Gov. Rick Perry. "I like Perry, but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere; he's not surging forward."
A spokesman for Mr. Bush tells CBS News his expression of support for Mitt Romney should be viewed as an "unofficial" endorsement. The spokesman says Mr. Obama "expressed his preference" when asked by a reporter.
The spokesman says there will be no press release or press conference for the 87-year-old former president to announce an official endorsement.
Continue »Axelrod jabs Gingrich as "original Tea Partier"
CBS
With just weeks left before voting begins in the Republican nomination fight, Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod took some shots Tuesday at the two candidates he sees as President Obama's most likely opponent in the general election: Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
At a briefing for reporters in Washington by senior members of Mr. Obama's reelection team, Axelrod described the former House Speaker as "the original Tea Partier."
Axelrod then recounted an anecdote that he'd heard from a former Chicago alderman: "He said, 'just remember the higher a monkey climbs on a pole, the more you can see his butt,'" Axelrod said. "So, you know, the Speaker is very high on the pole right now and we'll see how people like the view."
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Cain advisers largely standing by candidate
Eric Thayer/Getty Images
Florida Cain chairman and state representative Scott Plakon takes Cain at his word when he says he did not have a 13-year affair with Atlanta businesswoman Ginger White. But he added he expects the press to investigate the allegations further.
"My opinion is if he did have an affair, he should get out [of the race]," Plakon says.
Plakon was one of a slew of new Cain advisors and staff members announced in Florida last month when the campaign was riding high. Now he says the campaign needs to look at how it is structured.
"Their crisis management could use a little bit of help," Plakon says.
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Is Romney's N.H. lead insurmountable?
Mitt Romney greets the crowd outside the New Hampshire Statehouse after filing the necessary paperwork to be on the New Hampshire primary ballot October 24, 2011 in Concord, New Hampshire.
/ (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)Before even running his first television ad, Mitt Romney finds himself with a commanding lead in New Hampshire just seven weeks away from the primary. Romney garners the support of 41 percent of likely Republican voters in a new Suffolk University/7News poll. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul are tied for a distant second with 14 percent.
Romney, however, has been here before. At this point in the 2008 election cycle, Romney led the Republican field with 33 percent, according to a RealClearPolitics average of New Hampshire polls. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain followed with 18 percent and 16 percent respectively. Over the next several weeks, McCain's support steadily rose. The Arizona senator ultimately defeated Romney by 5.5 points on the way to the GOP nomination.
Could another candidate come from behind again in 2012 to topple Romney in the Granite State? It's possible, but New Hampshire political watchers say it will be much more difficult this time around.
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Staffers who left Gingrich campaign to return
After leaving the campaign, Schoenfeld for a brief time worked for Americans for Rick Perry, an independent 527 group that supported the Texas Governor's candidacy. Schoenfeld is a longtime Iowa Republican operative who was a senior member of President George W. Bush's 2000 Iowa team.
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Christie's biggest backer to support Romney
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Billionaire venture capitalist and Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, who aggressively pushed Chris Christie to enter the presidential race, has decided to throw his support behind Mitt Romney, CBS News has confirmed.
Langone's decision, which comes hours after Christie announced he would forgo a run, signals that the big donors who have spent much of the year seeking a Romney alternative may finally have decided to get behind the former Massachusetts governor.
Christie's decision has set off a behind-the-scenes effort for other candidates to secure the big-money donors who had been waiting on Christie, among them hedge fund magnate Paul Singer and industrialist David Koch. Sources tell CBS News that Romney's camp began efforts to woo Christie's backers Tuesday morning, even before Christie formally announced his decision.
Will vaccinations rise after Perry's HPV fuss?
WILSON FAMILY PHOTO
When Michelle Bachmann attacked Rick Perry in a debate earlier this month for signing an executive order that mandated girls in Texas get the HPV vaccine, Craig Wilson's phone began ringing off the hook.
Wilson, a Houston businessman, was close friends with Heather Burcham, the woman who struck up a friendship with Governor Perry after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. HPV, or the human papillomavirus, is a sexually-transmitted disease that can lead to cervical cancer in women, and Burcham believed Perry's executive order would save girls from suffering like she had.
Burcham passed away in 2007. That same year, the Texas legislature overturned Perry's executive order before it was implemented. But with Perry leading in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination, the controversial issue - and Burcham's story - are once again front and center.
In last week's debate, Perry said Burcham contributed to his decision to support mandatory vaccines.
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GOP candidates head to Florida for debate
Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, gestures as Texas Gov. Rick Perry watches during a Republican debate Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, in Tampa, Fla.
/ Mike CarlsonThe debate comes on the heels of a new Quinnipiac Poll showing Perry maintaining his edge over Romney 28 to 22 percent support - a lead that widened slightly, with Perry's 46 percent over Romney's 38, when measured as a two-man race. Among Tea Party respondents, Perry led Romney by 20 points, with 55 percent support to Romney's 35.
Tonight, Perry, Romney and the seven other contenders - including Gary Johnson as a last minute addition - will meet in Orlando for a debate sponsored by Fox News and Google. Tomorrow, the candidates will all address CPAC Florida, a conference sponsored by the American Conservative Union. And then on Saturday, the Florida Republican Party will hold its presidential straw poll.
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