(CNN) – In a spirited Republican presidential debate, Mitt Romney went after his surging conservative rival Newt Gingrich over his record as U.S. House speaker in the 1990s and accused Gingrich of lobbying after getting out of government.

Gingrich angrily denied the lobbying accusation, accusing Romney of lying about the issue and seeming flustered by the persistent attack.

(CNN) - Former Sen. Fred Thompson, the real life lawyer perhaps best known for playing one on television, announced his endorsement of Newt Gingrich Monday evening.

"I have come to the growing realization that Newt Gingrich is the guy who can articulate what America is all about," Thompson said of the former House speaker on Fox News.
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(CNN) - Washington moved closer to being the seventh U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage Monday when a key state senator announced her support.

Mary Margaret Haugen said she would be the 25th vote in the 49-member Senate for the bill. Supporters say the legislation already has a majority behind it in the state House of Representatives, and Gov. Christine Gregoire has said she would sign it if passed.

(CNN) - Dr. Miriam Adelson, a major Republican donor and the wife of billionaire Las Vegas casino owner Sheldon Adelson, wrote a $5 million check Monday to the super PAC Winning Our Future, which is supporting Newt Gingrich’s campaign, a source familiar with the contribution confirmed to CNN.

This comes in addition to the previous $5 million Sheldon Adelson gave the group earlier this month. The source could not speak for attribution because of the sensitivities of the donation.
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New York (CNNMoney) - Newt Gingrich's consulting firm worked for Freddie Mac in 2006 and was paid $25,000 a month, according to a document released Monday. The release came in response to accusations from the presidential candidate's critics charging that he lobbied on behalf of the government-backed mortgage finance firm, which many say is partly to blame for the housing crisis.

The document, made public by the Gingrich Group, the firm Gingrich founded in 2000, covers only 2006. The firm provided consulting services to Freddie Mac for roughly six years in total.

Washington (CNN) - The following is a primer on campaign finance terms relevant to the Supreme Court's 2010 "Citizens United" ruling that loosened spending restrictions in federal elections, which will have an impact this election year.

Washington (CNN) - Newt Gingrich might have led Republicans to their first House majority in 40 years in the 1990s, but the prospect of the former House Speaker becoming their presidential nominee is producing significant GOP angst.

"If he's the nominee, it's a disaster. There is no way to sugar-coat it," said one GOP congressional strategist describing the tension after Gingrich won South Carolina.

(CNN) - In an unusual step to halt the surging force of super PAC spending, Sen. Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren on Monday jointly called on outside groups to stop pouring cash into their closely-watched Massachusetts Senate race.

"This is a great victory for the people of Massachusetts, and a bold statement that puts Super PACs and other third parties on notice that their interference in this race will not be tolerated," Brown said in a statement.
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Tampa, Florida (CNN) – Hours before the presidential candidates face-off in another debate – the first one since Newt Gingrich's decisive win in South Carolina – the former House speaker described rival Mitt Romney as "desperate."

"If you've been campaigning for six years and you begin to see it slip away you get desperate," Gingrich said Monday in Tampa. "And when you get desperate you say almost anything, and I think at tonight's debate he'll stretch the barrier on almost anything."
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(CNN) - An independent super PAC that's supporting Newt Gingrich's bid for the Republican presidential nomination says that they'll soon go up with TV commercials on Florida airwaves, in advance of the Sunshine state's January 31 primary.

Winning Our Future tells CNN they'll be up on Florida television "very soon" with spots supporting the former House speaker, and say they'll be "very competitive" with the super PAC that's supporting former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has a much larger war chest than Gingrich.
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