Cooler but still well above normal this week

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

      AMES, Iowa (AP) - The biggest development of the Republican
presidential campaign on Thursday happened in Austin, Texas - 1,000
miles from the leadoff caucus state where GOP front-runner Mitt
Romney and seven of his opponents squared off ahead of an important
test vote this weekend.


      Texas Gov. Rick Perry sent word that he was running for the GOP
nomination, casting a shadow over the debate and threatening to
upend the race.


      Back in Iowa, Romney emerged unscathed with his
leader-of-the-pack status intact after two feisty hours; his two
Minnesota rivals - Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Gov. Tim
Pawlenty - sparred repeatedly as each sought advantage ahead of
Saturday's Iowa straw poll.


      Overall, the dynamics of the campaign did not change with a
single debate. And they may not change when Saturday's straw poll
results are announced.

      But the race could well change in the coming days as Perry dives
into it.


      The Texan may pose the biggest threat yet to Romney.


      Conservatives who make up the core of the GOP primary base view
Romney skeptically on cultural issues, and he hasn't been able to
establish himself as the heavy favorite for the nomination even
though he's spent months promoting his background as a businessman
and claiming that he alone has the know-how to create jobs to pull
the country out of a period of high unemployment, rampant
foreclosures and tumultuous financial markets.


      The Republican establishment has a lackluster view of Romney's
candidacy, leading deep-pocketed donors across the country to look
for more candidates to draft into the race who could bridge the
historical tension between the party's social and economic wings.
They couldn't convince former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to run. New
Jersey Gov. Chris Christie repeatedly refused, too. And Indiana
Gov. Mitch Daniels declined overtures as well.


      He is credible on issues social conservatives care about and
sent a strong message to evangelicals last weekend by hosting a
national prayer rally in Houston that drew roughly 30,000
Christians. He also has overseen a period of job growth in his
state, making Texas one of the few states in the country that have
posted economic gains and giving him the opportunity to challenge
Romney's pitch as the jobs candidate.


      Iowa, with its strong base of evangelical voters, may be
tailor-made for Perry. He was making his first trip to the state
Sunday, a day after formally announcing his candidacy in South
Carolina and New Hampshire - just as Iowa straw poll votes are
being cast.


      A caucus campaign by the Texan could force Romney to retool his
strategy of downplaying the state - which he lost during his first
run in 2008 after investing heavily - in favor of friendlier ground
elsewhere.


      "Perry hasn't shown up in the rodeo yet, but it looks like a
Romney-Perry race," Republican strategist Jim Dyke said.


      Perry is entering the race months after other candidates and
Romney has a multimillion-dollar head start in fundraising.


      Also, there still are at least five months before Iowa's
precinct caucuses that kick off the winter-to-summer GOP nomination
season, and there still are several unknowns, including whether
former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ends up running. She was making a
last-minute visit to the Iowa State Fair for Friday, reviving talk
of a potential candidacy on the eve of the straw poll at Iowa State
University. The straw poll could winnow the GOP field and indicate
which candidate has the strongest get-out-the-vote operation.


      This is turning out to be the most consequential week yet in the
2012 Republican presidential nomination fight - but not because of
anything that happened at the debate.


      Romney largely kept his criticism turned on President Barack
Obama and the incumbent Democrat's handling of the economy, an
issue that has blossomed anew as the GOP's top campaign concern in
the wake of a tumultuous week on Wall Street and continuing high
unemployment.


      "I understand how the economy works," Romney said during the
debate, noting the lessons of both successes and failures as a
venture capital firm chief executive officer. "Our president
doesn't understand how to lead or grow an economy."


      He wouldn't bite when asked to comment on his rivals' economic
positions.


      And Romney's rivals gave him a pass on a potentially problematic
comment he made earlier in the day at the Iowa State Fair when
confronted by hecklers, who suggested corporations should pay more
taxes. That prompted Romney to respond, "corporations are
people."


      Democrats quickly jumped on the exchange, though his GOP rivals
did not.


      Those who tried to knock him down a rung didn't even nick him.


      Struggling to find traction, Pawlenty poked at Romney on several
issues, including how much land he owns as well as his support for
a Massachusetts health care bill similar to the national one Obama
signed into law.


      But Pawlenty ended up getting pulled into a family fight with
Bachmann, who has outshone him in Iowa despite his 18 months of
laying groundwork for a campaign.


      "It's an undisputable fact that her record of accomplishment
and results has been non-existent," Pawlenty said, adding: "She's
got a record of misstating and making false statements."


      Bachmann, who has eclipsed Pawlenty since entering the race,
quickly responded with a list of what she called Pawlenty's liberal
policies when he was Minnesota's governor, including his support
for legislation to curb industrial emissions and his backing of an
individual health care mandate in Minnesota, both unpopular
positions with GOP activists.


      "You said the era of small government is over," she told
Pawlenty. "That sounds a lot like Barack Obama if you ask me."


      Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman - making his first debate
appearance - also tried to claim the space as the economic-focused
candidate by championing his state's job gains during his tenure
and noting his time as an executive in his family's chemical
company. But Obama's former ambassador to China also defended his
work under the Democratic president as well as his support for
civil unions - both issues that are problematic in a GOP primary
campaign.


      Lesser-known candidates tussled for position, including former
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, businessman
Herman Cain and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.


      Perry was absent from the stage. But not for long.


      Thomas Beaumont covers the Republican presidential race for The
Associated Press.

Gallery

Politics and Government News

The biggest development of the Republican
presidential campaign on Thursday happened in Austin, Texas - 1,000
miles from the leadoff caucus state where GOP front-runner Mitt
Romney and seven of his opponents squared off ahead of an important
test vote this weekend.

Analysis: Perry may pose biggest threat to Romney

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox