The race for the Minnesota Senate is in a dead heat.

(CNN) – Minnesota Senate challenger Al Franken is not conceding his race against incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman.

The two men are separated by less than 600 votes with 100 percent of the precincts reporting. The Associated Press called the race for Coleman Wednesday morning.

U.S. Senate Results Map

"Under Minnesota state law, we will now enter into an automatic statewide canvass and recount," Franken said earlier Wednesday.

"The process, dictated by our laws, will be orderly, fair, and will take place within a matter of days. We won't know for a little while who won this race, but at the end of the day, we will know that the voice of the electorate was clearly heard."

UPDATE: The AP has uncalled the race for Coleman

Read Franken's full prepared statement after the jump

The Secretary of State's office reports that all but nine of Minnesota's 4,130 precincts have reported in. And this race is too close to call, with a margin of just about 1100 votes out of 2.9 million cast. That's four one-hundredths of one percent of the vote. And we expect that when those final nine precincts are counted this morning, that 1100-vote margin will shrink into the hundreds.

Under Minnesota state law, we will now enter into an automatic statewide canvass and recount. It will be the first one since 1962, when I was 11 years old. I remember that year very clearly for two reasons. The recount between Elmer L. Anderson and Karl Rolvaag. And the Gophers were in the Rose Bowl that year.

And we have twice as many ballots to count this time.

Let me be clear: Our goal is to ensure that every vote is properly counted.

The process, dictated by our laws, will be orderly, fair, and will take place within a matter of days. We won't know for a little while who won this race, but at the end of the day, we will know that the voice of the electorate was clearly heard.

There is reason to believe that the recount could change the vote tallies significantly.

Our office and the Obama campaign have received reports of irregularities at various precincts around the state. For instance, some polling places in Minneapolis ran out of registration materials. Our team has been working on those issues for several hours already, and they will continue to do so this morning as the recount process begins.

Let me be clear: This race is too close to call, and we do not yet know who won. We are lucky enough to live in a state with built-in protections to ensure that in close elections like these, the will of the people is accurately reflected in the outcome.

This has been a long campaign, and it's going to be a little longer before we have a winner. Senator Coleman, Senator Barkley, and I have done a lot of talking. Minnesotans have waited a long time to have THEIR say. And thanks to our state's laws, we will eventually understand precisely what they have said.

Al Franken is one of several candidates still fighting for a seat this Wednesday morning.

(CNN) – Several key races are still undecided Wednesday as ballots continue to be counted.

In the Presidential race, North Carolina, Indiana, and Missouri all show Obama and McCain within one percentage point of each other. All three were previously viewed as critical battleground states for both candidates. However, with Obama leading by 175 electoral votes, the 37 votes no longer hold much sway.

Four seats in the Senate have yet to be determined.  As of this morning, Alaska Sen.Ted Stevens was just one percentage point ahead of Democrat Mark Begich and Oregon Senator Gordon Smith had a two point lead on Democrat Jeff Merkley.

In Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman was 570 votes ahead of Democrat Al Franken.  This tight margin falls within Minnesota's recount law, and a recount is now scheduled to take place from mid-November through early December.

Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss had a four point lead over democrat Jim Martin.  Although Georgia’s incumbent leads by four points, state law dictates that in order to win the seat, a candidate must attain over 50 percent of the vote. If this does not happen, an automatic runoff will be held between the top two contenders in early December.

With the Democrats currently holding 56 seats in Senate, these four states will determine whether or not the Democrats reach their goal of a filibuster-proof Senate majority.

President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden's Senate seats will also be vacated, but their replacements are still unknown.

Rep. Chris Shays, R-Connecticut, failed to win his 11th full term.

(CNN) – Democrats appeared to have padded their 36-seat majority in the U.S. House, defeating a few established Republicans and winning some open contests as they tried to capitalize on an unpopular GOP president.

Democrats clinched a majority and took at least 21 seats from Republicans, with the GOP taking only four from the Democrats, according to CNN projections as of 4 a.m. ET Wednesday.

With winners yet to be called for 12 of the House's 435 seats, Democrats were projected to win 251 seats, with Republicans having 172.

Heading into Election Day, the Democrats had a 235-199 majority. The Democrats' apparent gains Tuesday come two years after they took control of the House - with a gain of 30 seats - after 12 years in the minority.

Full story

Voters waiting to cast their ballots in Chicago.

(CNN) - Americans hit the polls Tuesday in numbers that officials across the country believed would shatter election turnout records.

Although more than 24.4 million people had already cast early or absentee ballots by Monday, the continued high volume of voters had people across the United States braving long lines.

"People were there in the rain, in the cold, with their children. People close to the 100-year-mark, with their walkers and their chairs," said Elmira N. Luckey, a mental health counselor who voted in Richmond, Virginia.

Luckey said she heard some people in the line complain about the rain, but added all those complaints were followed up with "But I'm here, and I'm gonna stay here."

Full story

Troops stationed abroad watch as election results came in.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) - Thousands of miles removed from their hometown polling stations, American soldiers in Iraq watched a historic U.S. presidential election unfold Tuesday evening.

Tuning in at a forward operating base in southern Baghdad, soldiers watched on big screen televisions as Democrat Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States and the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office.

"Amazing", said U.S. Army Sgt. Melissa Quereau. "I'm shaking I'm so excited. History right there. History being made right now."

Strict military rules that keep partisan debates private could not hide many soldiers' intense interest in Tuesday's election.

Watch: U.S. troops following election

"It is a critical election", U.S. Marine Corps spokesman Cameron Renner said in Baghdad. "The changing parties can dramatically affect the events that happen to us out here in this combat zone".

Obama, who was opposed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, has called for a withdrawal of all combat soldiers from Iraq within 16 months.

"Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been," he wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece in July.

During his victory speech at Chicago's Grant Park, Obama acknowledged tough foreign policy issues he now inherits.

"Even as we stand here tonight", he said, "we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us."

But back home, Iraq was not America's biggest concern. Sixty-two percent of voters polled Tuesday said the economy was their top election issue, according to early national exit polling.

It was far ahead of the Iraq war, which only 10 percent of polled voters named their top issue.

A majority of those voters voted for Sen. Barack Obama in all but two states, according to early exit polling results.

Meanwhile, in a Shiite neighborhood in southeast Baghdad, seven people were killed and 20 others wounded when a bomb hidden underneath a vegetable cart exploded in a bus station, an official with the Iraqi Interior Ministry told CNN.

The seven were among 19 people killed in violence across Iraq Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Iraqi government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said he welcomed an Obama presidency.

"The Iraqi government has a true desire to work and cooperate with the elected president in order to achieve the joint interest of the two countries, preserve the security and stability of Iraq, insure Iraq's full sovereignty and protect the interests of its people," he said.

– CNN's Phil Black and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report

Exit polls show that age factored into voters' decision more than race.

(CNN) – Race played less of a role in the presidential election than age, exit polls showed Tuesday.

While Barack Obama will be the nation's first black president, John McCain would have been the oldest person ever elected to the nation's highest office.

Twice as many of those polled on Tuesday said age was an important factor in their vote as those who said race was.

Among those factoring age into their vote, 78 percent went for Obama compared to 21 percent for McCain, exit polls showed.

Those who said race was an important factor voted 55 percent to 44 percent in favor of Obama. But Obama also was the winner by a similar margin among those who said race was not important, "which suggests that race was not a decisive factor in this election," CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said.

The economy was the top issue in the election among 62 percent of voters questioned in exit polls on Tuesday.

It was far ahead of the second-place issue, the Iraq war, which was named as the top concern of 10 percent of voters polled.

Those who picked the Iraq war as their top issue voted for Obama in all but two states, according to the early exit polling results.

Health care and terrorism were tied in third place at 9 percent as the issue voters were most concerned about, according to the exit polling. Those who picked terrorism as their top concern overwhelmingly chose McCain.

In early exit polling, first-time voters were breaking overwhelmingly for Obama over McCain by a 72 percent to 27 percent margin.

First-time voters made up 10 percent of the total national electorate in the early polling results.

Many of those polled said they expect a post-election tax increase, with 49 percent predicting their taxes will rise no matter who is elected president. Another 22 percent said taxes will go up only if Obama wins, and 12 percent said taxes will go up only if McCain wins. Only 15 percent said their taxes will stay the same or go down.

A bare majority of those surveyed - 51 percent - think the government should do more to solve problems. Forty-three percent believe the government is doing too much. At the same time, early exit polling shows only a minority of voters - 40 percent - support the $700 billion government plan to assist failing financial companies. Fifty-six percent are opposed.

GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin didn't do well in exit polls. Sixty percent of those polled said the Alaska governor is not qualified to be president, if necessary; 38 percent said she is. That compares with the two-thirds of those polled who said Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden is qualified to be president and the 31 percent who said he isn't.

Many voters told the pollsters that they made up their minds early in the campaign season, with 61 percent saying they made up their minds before September, another 13 percent saying they decided in September and 17 percent saying they made their selection last month.

Seven percent of those polled decided whom to support within the last three days.

Exit polling also showed that Democrats who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton during the primaries overwhelmingly voted for Obama in the general election, 84 percent to 15 percent for McCain.

For the poll, more than 16,000 people who had just voted were selected at random to fill out questionnaires.

– CNN's Joe Von Kanel and Hal Quinley contributed to this report.

From CNN's Donn Cost

(CNN) – (CNN) - Democrats are keeping their eyes on a filibuster-proof Senate majority of 60 seats in Tuesday's elections.

The party picked up one seat early in the evening with the projected winner of Virginia's open Senate seat, Democratic former Gov. Mark Warner. Warner will fill the seat of retiring Sen. John Warner, a Republican. The two Warners are not related.

According to CNN's projections, six Democrats have kept their seats. They are Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. If Biden is elected vice president, he'll give up his Senate seat, and the state's Democratic governor would appoint a replacement.

So far, four Republicans have held their seats. They are Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina - John McCain's chief ally in the Senate - and Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

Poll closing times vary across the country.

(CNN) - Polls in the eastern part of Indiana and Kentucky close at 6 pm ET; in some areas in the western part of those states, they stay open until 7 pm ET. Polls in most of Florida stay open until 7 pm ET — except in some areas of the Florida Panhandle in the western part of the state, where they will remain open until 8 pm ET.

Polls in New Hampshire’s townships will stay open until 7 pm ET this evening; in the state’s cities, that time is 8 pm.

Polls in eastern Kansas, Texas and South Dakota stay open until 8 pm ET; in the western parts of those states, they remain open until 9 pm ET.

In eastern Michigan, polls stay open until 8 pm; in some areas of the western part of the state, they stay open until 9 pm ET.

Most North Dakota polls stay open until 8 pm ET; but in some areas, including the western part of the state, they will be open until 9 pm ET.

In Southern Idaho, the polls stay open until 10 pm ET. In the northern part of the state, that time is 11 pm ET.

In eastern Oregon, polls will be open until 10 pm ET, and in western Oregon until 11 pm ET.

And in Sarah Palin’s home state of Alaska, voters in the eastern part of the state will be able to weigh in until midnight. In a small part of western Alaska, polls will remain open until 1 a.m. ET Wednesday.

If you live in any of these areas, please check with your local board of elections or Secretary of State to find the correct closing times for your polling locations.

Sen. Barack Obama in an interview Friday with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

(CNN) - Sen. Barack Obama told CNN Friday that turning around the economy and energy independence are his top priorities for 2009 if elected president.

In an interview with Wolf Blitzer in Des Moines, Iowa, Obama was asked to name his top priority from a list of issues, including taxes, health care, education, energy policy and immigration.

"[The] top priority may not be any of those five. It may be continuing to stabilize the financial system. We don't know yet what's gonna happen in January," he said. "None of this can be accomplished if we continue to see a potential meltdown in the banking system and financial system. So that's priority number one - making sure the plumbing works."

Obama said priority number 2 is energy independence:

"We have to seize this moment because it's not just an energy independence issue, it's also a national security issue and it's a jobs issue. We can create five million new green energy jobs ..."

You can watch the full interview on ‘The Situation Room’ at 6 p.m. ET.

Priority number 3: Healthcare reform.

Priority number 4: "Making sure we have tax cuts for the middle class as part of a broader tax reform effort."

Obama later expanded his discussion on how tax cuts relate to a bigger economic plan.

"The tax cut that I talked about may be part of my priority number one because I think that’s going to be part of stabilizing the economy as a whole," he said.

"I think we’re going to need a second stimulus. Part of my commitment is to make sure that the stimulus includes a tax cut for 95 percent of working Americans. It may be the first bill I introduce."

Priority number 5: Reforming the education system.

Reporters pressed Kerry about the Osama bin Laden tape.

(CNN) – It's Halloween on Friday, but campaign aides to Barack Obama and John McCain may be spooked for another reason: Events that dominated the news in the dwindling days before the previous two presidential elections may have been game-changers.

Aides to Sen. John Kerry were increasingly confident of victory four days before the 2004 election, believing the Massachusetts senator performed strongly in three debates with President Bush and was buoyed by polls showing a last-minute surge for the Democratic ticket.

But that was before Osama bin Laden weighed in.

On Friday, October 29, the 9/11 mastermind released a videotape to Arab television network al-Jazeera, in which he condemned President Bush's response to the 9/11 attacks and told the American people, "Your security is in your own hands."

Full story

Since losing his job in July, Jon Lowder is taking resume-building and networking classes.

(CNN) - Even before the economic crisis, voters listed the economy as the top issue in the presidential election.

In a CNN.com special report, Battleground Voters, we talked to voters in five battleground states - Colorado, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio - to find out how the economy would influence their choice for president.

In the last of four parts, we talked to the unemployed, who say keeping jobs in their communities and in the country is key to their vote.

Full Story

Audio Slideshow

Check out the previous stories in CNN's special report on battleground voters: Tuesday's installment focused on small business owners, Wednesday's on students and Thursday's on retirees.

Government intervention to fix the economy is 'absolutely necessary,' Cameron Graham says.

(CNN) - Even before the current economic crisis, voters listed the economy as the top issue in the presidential election.

In a CNN.com special report, Battleground Voters, we talked to voters in five battleground states - Colorado, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio - to find out how the economy would influence their choice for president.

In the third of four parts, we talked to retirees, who say they're not only worried about their own finances, and whether they may need to work again, but about others, and the kind of world that their children and grandchildren will live in.

Full Story

Audio Slideshow

CNN's special report on battleground voters continues Friday with a look at unemployed voters.

Katie Ulrich says her college savings have run out and she's looking for new ways to pay for her education.

(CNN) - Even before the current economic crisis, voters listed the economy as the top issue in the presidential election.

In a CNN.com special report, Battleground Voters, we talked to voters in five battleground states - Colorado, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio - to find out how the economy would influence their choice for president.

In the second of four parts, we talked to students, who say that while they're worried about making ends meet in college and jobs when they graduate, social issues matter, too.

Full Story

Audio slideshow

CNN's special report on battleground voters continues Thursday with a look at retirees and Friday with unemployed voters.

Tuesday's installment focused on small business owners.

Susan Melching calls enduring current economic conditions 'a very frightening experience.'

(CNN) - Even before the current economic crisis, voters listed the economy as the top issue in the presidential election.

In a CNN.com special report, Battleground Voters, we talked to voters in five battleground states - Colorado, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio - to find out how the economy would influence their choice for president.

In the first of four parts, we talked to small-business owners, who have been at the center of John McCain's and Barack Obama's plans on how they would get the ailing economy back on track.

Full Story

CNN's special report on battleground voters continues Wednesday with a look at students, Thursday with retirees and Friday with unemployed voters.

Will Jackson fears that politics has gotten too dirty.

ABOARD THE ELECTION EXPRESS IN ELIZABETHTOWN, Kentucky (CNN) – We’re heading south toward Friday’s debate in Oxford, Mississippi, but as the country rolls by the windows of the bus, I keep hearing the voice of a man named Will Jackson.

He and I spoke just before we loaded the bus to leave the Cincinnati/Covington area. He’s 31; he had at dawn dropped his brother at the airport in Dayton, 67 miles away (it was worth the drive for his brother to get a a less expensive ticket at the more distant and inconvenient airport than to fly out of the Cincinnati/Covington one and pay a higher price), and now he had driven the 67 miles back and was getting ready to go to work.

He said that, in theory, he likes the idea of politics, and, in theory, he would consider the idea of running for a local office someday himself.

But he won’t.

And the reason is a lesson he said he has learned from this year’s presidential campaign.

“I don’t believe in saying bad things about other people,” he said, as if nothing more had to be explained.

He said he had watched the negative news about both candidates– the news generated by the campaign organizations themselves, and the news generated by the press.

“Digging up dirt, trying to spread it all over the world. . .I don’t think I could do that,” he said.

He said he’s afraid that, in order to win, he would have to become a person he didn’t recognize.

“I think I’m known as a good guy,” he said. “I hope I’m known as a person who helps other people out. I wouldn’t want that to change.”

He understands why the presidential campaign has devolved into where it finds itself now:

“You have to fight fire with fire, I suppose,” he said.

But it’s not for him.

“It wouldn’t be worth it,” he said.

Bayh, Sebelius, and Dodd are praising Biden.

(CNN) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, both believed to be considered for the Democratic VP position, are praising Obama's choice of Joe Biden.

"I’m delighted Senator Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate," Sebelius said in a statement. "His extensive experience dealing with foreign policy issues are an asset in these complicated times."

"Jackie and I congratulate our dear friend, Joe Biden, who will make an excellent running mate for Barack Obama, and more importantly a great Vice President," Dodd said in a statement. "I have known Joe for almost 30 years and I've had the privilege of sitting next to him on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and sharing the campaign trail both with him and Barack. I know this is a ticket that can win in November."

Earlier, Hillary Clinton also released a statement praising the Biden pick.

UPDATE: Sen. Evan Bayh has released a statement praising the Democratic ticket.

“Joe Biden is an outstanding public servant with deep experience and a fighting spirit," he said. "These qualities will make him a great asset in the White House and on the campaign trail this fall."

(Full Dodd, Sebelius, and Bayh statements after the jump)

Kathleen Sebelius:

"I’m delighted Senator Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate. His extensive experience dealing with foreign policy issues are an asset in these complicated times. He will be a great partner for Barack Obama in bringing about the change so desperately needed in our country, and restoring to America our sense of optimism and hope for a brighter future. I am proud to support this incredible team."

Chris Dodd

"Jackie and I congratulate our dear friend, Joe Biden, who will make an excellent running mate for Barack Obama, and more importantly a great Vice President. I have known Joe for almost 30 years and I've had the privilege of sitting next to him on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and sharing the campaign trail both with him and Barack. I know this is a ticket that can win in November.

"With rising gas prices, increasing health care and education costs, a damaged reputation across the world, and a struggling economy at home, the American people are ready for change. Barack Obama and Joe Biden represent that change. They will bring new leadership to the White House that will get our economy moving again, finally end the war in Iraq and our bring our troops home, ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health care, and end our dependence on foreign oil."

Evan Bayh

“Joe Biden is an outstanding public servant with deep experience and a fighting spirit. These qualities will make him a great asset in the White House and on the campaign trail this fall.

“Indiana and America face challenging times. We are a nation at war with an economy on the rocks. In his most important decision to date, Barack Obama demonstrated the judgment to choose a governing partner who is wise and strong and will help him deliver change to a country yearning for it. I enthusiastically support the selection of Senator Biden.

“It was an honor to be considered, and I hope it reflects well on the state of Indiana that a Hoosier was in the running. I am proud to serve in the United States Senate and will continue to work each day to make a difference in the lives of the people of my state.”

A new GOP ad shows Biden criticizing Obama.

(CNN) - John McCain's campaign is going to the tape.

Wasting little time attacking the newly-minted Democratic presidential ticket, the McCain campaign released a television ad Saturday morning featuring Barack Obama's running mate criticizing the Illinois senator in a primary debate last year.

The 30-second spot, set to air in key states, features an August 2007 primary debate during which Joe Biden was asked if he stood by his criticism Obama is not yet ready to be president.

"I think that I stand by the statement," Biden is shown saying.

The ad also features a 2005 interview of Biden during which he praised McCain, saying, "I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off."

Obama arrived in Jordan on Monday.

AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) – Senator Barack Obama arrived in Jordan Tuesday Morning to begin what his campaign describes as days of back-to-back in-depth meetings with world leaders where the topics of Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran promise to loom large.

Obama, along with Senators Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, and Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, wrapped up several days of assessing the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq. The three will hold a news conference at the historic Amman Citadel before attending a small dinner with Jordanian King Abdullah. Obama will also have a one-on-one meeting with the king where aides say the Israeli-Palestinian peace process will likely be discussed.

On Wednesday Obama spends the day in Israel where he will meet with a variety of officials including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He will also travel to Ramallah where he will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian leaders were upset by comments Obama made in June to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that Jerusalem “must remain undivided.” But In an interview the next day with CNN’s Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley, Obama said it would be up to both the Israelis and the Palestinians to “negotiate a range of these issues and Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations.”

Campaign aides say Obama has never changed his position that Jerusalem “should remain” Israel’s Capital and should be part of final status negotiations.

Once Obama arrives in Jordan his campaign will pick up the tab for the remaining days of the Democratic presidential candidate’s travel through the Middle East and Europe. Obama aides bristle at the suggestion that this trip has any political purpose and strongly insist this five-day, five-nation tour is designed to give the Illinois senator the opportunity to listen, learn and have an exchange of views about issues of shared concern like Iraq and rising oil prices.

Obama will be traveling on his campaign plane along with some of his top political advisers. The campaign also would not rule out the idea that some of the video footage shot by its regularly traveling photographers, particularly the much anticipated outdoor speech in Berlin on Thursday, would not be used in the future for television advertisements or other political purposes.

(See CNN Senior Political Producer Sasha Johnson in Jordan)

Mike DuHaime ran Giuliani's presidential campaign.

(CNN) – In one of his first moves to centralize control of McCain's political organization, Steve Schmidt has tapped Rudy Giuliani's former campaign manager, Mike DuHaime, to be McCain's new political director, a top campaign adviser tells CNN.

Until last week, McCain had no political director at headquarters - highly unusual for a general election campaign. Mccain's campaign instead relied on 11 regional campaign managers - a structure many Republicans in and outside of the McCain campaign, including Schmidt, considered unworkable.

After formally taking control of the political operation last week, Schmidt decided to put a political director in place to oversee the state and regional operations.

Duhaime went to work as an adviser to McCain at headquarters not long after Giuliani dropped his primary bid.

HAGATNA, Guam (CNN) – They can’t vote for president in November, but today, their votes to help choose the Democratic nominee for president will make a difference. So residents in the tiny U.S. territory of Guam, with its population of nearly 175,000, continue to line up in a steady stream to cast ballots for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

Dededo resident Cathleen Moore-Linn stood in line for over an hour outside the old police precinct in Dededo, Guam’s most populated village. Despite the 90-degree tropical heat and no air conditioning at the polling site, she says, “Nobody left. A lot of manamko’ (elderly people) came out to vote. And people were filling out the forms to join the Democrat Party.”

At villages in the southern end of the island, which is far less populated, election committee member Nancy Weare says the voting is running smoothly. “There’s a constant flow of traffic, and good voter turnout.”

At stake are Guam’s four delegate votes at the national convention in Denver in August. Island voters today are electing eight delegates, who will each have a half vote at the convention. Two of Guam’s five superdelegates have already pledged one vote each to Clinton and Obama. The other three superdelegates, including congressional delegate Madeleine Bordallo, remain undeclared.

Vying for Guam’s delegate and superdelegate votes in their tight race for the nomination, the two remaining Democratic presidential hopefuls have inundated the island with radio and TV advertisements, each promising long-awaited political gains: the ability for Guamanians to be able to vote for president, lifting the territory’s cap on Medicaid, and perhaps the most coveted prize of all, war reparations in the form of over $120 million. A war reparations bill, sponsored by Bordallo, would issue payments to the survivors of Japan’s control of the island during World War II and would create educational and research programs about the occupation. The legislation is currently stalled in the U.S. Senate.

The polls closed on Guam at 8 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET). Hand tabulation of the ballots is expected to take approximately three hours. In the island’s 2006 gubernatorial election, 55,311 people were registered to vote. The Democratic candidate received nearly 19,000 votes, and although voter turnout today is steady, election officials say it is not expected to be unusually high.

(CNN) - Early vote returns from Saturday's Guam Democratic caucuses show Barack Obama with a small but early lead over presidential rival Hillary Clinton, although the bulk of the votes in the U.S. territory have yet to be counted.

With 2 out of 21 villages reporting, Obama won 188 votes to 105 for Clinton. Guam Democratic Party officials told CNN Saturday morning that the vote tabulation is ongoing but will take several more hours to complete.

Polls closed in Guam at 8 p.m. local time, or 6 a.m. eastern time. Four delegate votes are at stake in this event.

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) ­- With only hours left in the Iowa presidential campaign, New Hampshire is gearing up for its turn in the limelight, and getting ready for the imminent arrival of candidates, campaign staff and journalists.

The first to hit the ground in the Granite State is Sen. John McCain, who landed before voting in Iowa even began. McCain, who has seen a recent surge in state polls, has already spent most of the week stumping here – he’ll watch the caucus returns from aboard his Straight Talk Express campaign bus.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will kick off this new phase of his New Hampshire campaign with a 2 a.m. rally at the Portsmouth airport.

After spending Thursday morning campaigning in New Hampshire, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leaves for Florida, but returns Friday afternoon for a town hall in Salem. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will start off with an afternoon campaign in Henniker. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson's Friday schedule is still being hashed out, but he will be back in the state Saturday for the ABC/WMUR presidential debates. Rep. Ron Paul's schedule is still in the works.

On the Democratic side, all the candidates are storming the Granite State in time for breakfast. Sen. Hillary Clinton returns with former President Bill Clinton for an early morning event Friday in Nashua. Sen. Barack Obama begins his Friday in Portsmouth with a morning rally, while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson makes a breakfast stop at the Merrimack in Manchester. Sen. Chris Dodd hits the ground early Friday morning, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich has been in the Granite State since December 31. But Sen. John Edwards takes the early-bird prize on the Democratic side Friday, with a 6:15 a.m. campaign stop in Manchester.

They’ll find a race that promises to be nearly as tight as Iowa’s. A Franklin Pierce/University/WBZ poll released yesterday found Clinton and Obama neck-and-neck at 32 and 28 percent, with Edwards in third place with 19 percent. The same poll found Republican John McCain leading Mitt Romney 37 to 31 percent, with Giuliani at 10 percent. The poll was conducted December 27-31 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

The GOP race is even closer in a Suffolk/WHDH poll released today, which finds McCain leading Romney 29 to 25 percent. Huckabee has 12 percent in the survey, and Giuliani has 9 percent. But the same poll finds a far different picture on the Democratic side, with Clinton at 39 percent to Obama’s 23 percent and Edwards’ 17 percent. That poll was conducted January 1-2, and has a margin of error for each party subsample of plus or minus 4.38 percent.

–CNN’s Sareena Dalla and Rebecca Sinderbrand

Strickland campaigned with Clinton in Iowa over the weekend.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (CNN) – Just days before the Iowa caucuses, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter criticized the state’s privileged role in the presidential nominating process, forcing her campaign to declare that she did not agree with the assessment.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was quoted in Sunday’s edition of The Columbus Dispatch as saying that it “makes no sense” to grant Iowa the right to hold the first contest of the 2008 race for the White House.

"I'd like to see both parties say, 'We're going to bring this to an end,'" Strickland told the newspaper.

Competing campaigns seized on the article and emailed it around to reporters to highlight Strickland’s comments late Sunday night. The Clinton campaign moved quickly, and issued a statement shortly after midnight distancing the New York senator from the governor’s remarks.

“Senator Clinton has worked her heart out campaigning in Iowa because she knows it plays a unique and special role in the nominating process and that process must be protected,” read the statement. “As she has said many times she is glad Iowans are entrusted with this responsibility because they take it so seriously. On this issue Hillary and Gov. Strickland strongly disagree.”

Strickland’s comments came on the same day that WHO TV reporter Dave Price reported that Clinton’s Midwest co-chair Jerry Crawford told him that she would “not be here caucus night.”

Full story

– CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch and Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley

Watch Bill Schneider from Des Moines, Iowa.

Watch Schneider discuss how the death of Pakistan's former prime minister again places the spotlight on the war on terrorism and experience in a tight 2008 presidential primary race.

Watch Bush engage in some political punditry.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Bush may not be weighing in on the current presidential contest, but Thursday he offered a rare glimpse into how he’d like to vet his successor.

In this clip from the President’s Thursday press conference, Bush explains the two questions he would ask the candidates vying for the White House.

First, Bush would inquire about “the principles by which people make decisions”: “You can’t be the president unless you have a firm set of principles to guide you as you sort through all of the problems the world faces,” the president explained. He said he would be “very hesitant to support someone who relies on opinion polls and focus groups to define a way forward.”

Second, the President said he would investigate how a candidate intends to get the “unvarnished opinion” of his circle of advisers if elected.

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona

JAMES ISLAND, South Carolina (CNN) – Sen. John McCain made abundantly clear Friday that his fate in South Carolina rests firmly on the coastal areas that voted in his favor when he ran for president in 2000.

Although he has campaigned furiously along the coast, populated by thousands of McCain-friendly veterans and military personnel, it’s the first time he's acknowledged the region is a must-win for him.

"We've got to carry the coast heavily," he said to an audience at an American Legion hall here. "We've got to win on the coast, and I think we can. We've got to win all over, but its very important we win here."

McCain defeated then-Texas Gov. George Bush in several coastal counties in the 2000 primary, while Bush dominated McCain in Upstate counties with larger populations of GOP primary voters and churchgoing conservatives.

But unlike that primary nearly eight years ago, the current GOP contest is not just a two-man race, which could dilute McCain's support where he needs it most.

South Carolina's demographics have also changed: out-of-state retirees, including many New Yorkers, have poured into communities in and around cities like Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, when he campaigns here, targets coastal communities in particular.

Still, McCain was in friendly territory on Friday as he made an old-fashioned political appeal to the crowd of veterans gathered around a bar.

"I'm asking for your support," he said. "I'm asking for your vote and I'm asking you to make a few phone calls. I'm asking you to put up a sign in your yard."

– CNN South Carolina Producer Peter Hamby

WASHINGTON (CNN)–Look for more red-hot scrutiny of Republican Mike Huckabee this week, the underdog turned top dog in Iowa.

A Newsweek poll shows Huckabee now has a whopping 22 point lead over Mitt Romney in Iowa - other polls don't show as big a Huckabee lead, but with a little over three weeks to go until the lead-off contest, the former governor of Arkansas is now the one to beat.

Expect Huckabee to be a target when the GOP candidates square off in the Des Moines Register debate on Wednesday.

Romney, in particular, will be trying to regain his footing in Iowa, where he once enjoyed a comfortable lead.

Thursday, it's the Democrats' turn to debate in Des Moines - with the three-way slugfest between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards taking center stage.

Clinton and Obama refocus on the Hawkeye state after dueling weekend events in South Carolina featuring superstar surrogates: Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey.

But no one is bigger than Republican Ron Paul's new campaign vehicle: A blimp - floating up the Eastern seaboard this week - headed right for the first in the nation primary state of New Hampshire.

-CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer

DES MOINES, Iowa–After 20 years covering politics, I’m a hard sell. I’ve seen every gimmick known to politicians: train trips, hang gliders, pyrotechnics and “intimate” conversations with voters in barber shops, front porches, diners and ice cream shops. Lord knows I have seen hundreds of endorsements.

But the Double “O” show, coming to an early primary state near you, was something else again. There was an “Iowa for Obama” sign on the wall, adorned with white Christmas tree lights. The obligatory banner hung in camera range just behind the podium. There were a couple of signs, but no fireworks, no hang gliders, just Oprah and Obama and thousands of their closest friends packed into a cavernous arena in downtown Des Moines.

Gayle (Oprah’s BFF) told one of the women seated next to her that Oprah was up until three in the morning writing her speech introducing Obama. She told people backstage she was nervous. I asked one of his advisers if the campaign had any input. “Nope,” he said “All the Big O.” If that’s true, Winfrey has a future. It was a great speech, and she is a gifted speaker.

The crowd was wild for Oprah. Thunderous applause. Camera flashes lit up the arena. Somebody yelled, “Oprah for Vice-President”. Obama turned around and smiled. That would be, he said “a demotion”. He spent so much time fawning over her she finally asked him to “move along.” He did which-minus the Ode to Oprah- was mostly his standard stump speech.

Afterwards, reporters were asking people in the crowd whether they came for Oprah or Obama. Face it, it’s caucus time in Iowa. They can see a politician any day of the week. This is the Oprah tour, and they understand that at Camp Obama. They welcome that at Camp Obama. She drew them in. He made his case.

Endorsements do not decide elections. I don’t think they matter much at all (I remind you of Al Gore’s endorsement of Howard Dean). But as I watched Oprah embrace Obama as thousands of people went crazy, I found myself wondering how many votes a hug is worth.

–CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton's mother, Dorothy Rodham, was the surprise guest at a "Take Your Buddy to Caucus," event in Des Moines Friday night.

Sen. Clinton told the crowd of about 500 that she brought her mom as her buddy. She also noted that the last time her mother was in Iowa was 53 years ago.

Someone in the crowd yelled, "welcome back."

Mrs. Rodham sat down without making any comments.

The Senator encouraged the crowd to "buddy up" and bring an extra person to caucus.

Sen. Clinton also noted that the event site, East High School in Des Moines was where she started her presidential campaign.

The Clinton campaign announced that both Dorothy Rodham, and Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, would join the New York senator on the campaign trail in Iowa on Saturday.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

-CNN Producer Matt Hoye

Watch John King's report on John McCain's New Hampshire strategy.

(CNN)–John McCain is angling for a repeat of 2000, and another New Hampshire surprise. CNN's John King travels with McCain through the state, the Arizona senator hopes will turn him in to another 'Comeback Kid.'

Romney plans an address on his faith later this week.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will make a much anticipated speech on his Mormon faith this week.

Romney's campaign says that the address, entitled "Faith In America," will take place Thursday, December 6 at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station Texas at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden, in a statement, says, "This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation and how the governor's own faith would inform his presidency if he were elected. Governor Romney understands that faith is an important issue to many Americans, and he personally feels this moment is the right moment for him to share his views with the nation."

As for the decision-making process, Madden says that "Governor Romney personally made the decision to deliver this speech sometime last week."

A senior Romney Campaign official tells CNN the speech has been on the table for some time and that there were lots of pros and cons to giving such an address. The official says that Romney believed that the speech was important and that once he "became comfortable with the construct of the speech" he gave the go ahead.

Full story

– CNN's John King and Paul Steinhauser

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

STRATHAM, New Hampshire (CNN)–Rudy Giuliani told voters, Sunday, to focus on staying "competitive" domestically rather than worry about jobs outsourced abroad.

"The best thing to keep jobs here is to be competitive," the former New York mayor told a voter who had asked about software jobs being shipped to India and China.

Giuliani said the solution was to "Make it attractive for businesses to keep jobs here in the U.S," and cited lower taxes and less regulation as key incentives for businesses.

Giuliani also asked the crowd to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit.

"Here are two emerging economies, 20 to 30 million people a year coming out of poverty in each one of those countries," Giuliani said of India and China. "I see them as 20 to 30 million more customers. What can we sell them? What can we sell them that is cost effective for us and for them."

Energy independent technology, health care systems, and financial institutions topped the presidential hopeful's list of American products that would be in high demand in emerging markets.

Giuliani also drew lines between economic policy and foreign policy.

Said Giuliani: "When we trade with countries on a sensible basis, we become friends."

–New Hampshire Producer Sareena Dalla

Obama picked up the endorsment from Mayor Cownie in Des Moines, IA on Sunday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama gained the support of Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie on Sunday.

Appearing together at a press conference at the State Historical Society in Des Moines, Cownie praised Obama for his efforts to combat climate change and commitment to invest in renewable energies.

“Barack Obama will put an end to the bitter partisanship that’s stopped us from making progress on the urgent challenge of global warming. He’ll tell the American people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear," said Cownie.

"As President, he’ll restore America’s standing in the world and lead a global effort to meet this challenge once and for all,” added Cownie.

Obama, who has a plan to make America 50% more energy efficient by 2030, commended Cownie for his environmental achievements.

"Mayor Cownie has shown real leadership on environmental issues, and all Americans – not just the people of Des Moines – have benefited from it," said Obama.

Before elected mayor, Crownie was on the Des Moines City Council where he led Des Moines' long-term economic growth strategy, the “2020 Plan.”

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

– CNN Assignment Desk Editor Marissa Muller

Mike Huckabee says he is "very pleased" with how his campaign is moving forward.

(CNN) – White house hopeful Mike Huckabee was optimistic about his progress in New Hampshire, even though he wasn’t the person winning the endorsement from the New Hampshire Union Leader.

“I fully understand the Union Leader's endorsement. John McCain is a good and honorable man, and I have come to admire and like him. I have no qualms with their endorsement. I wish it had been for me, obviously,” said Huckabee after a Sunday morning worship service at Grace Fellowship of Nashua in New Hampshire.

Huckabee spent the weekend campaigning in New Hampshire and was floored with the attention and turnout at his events.

“I came here a few months ago and there might be one print reporter who wrote a couple of things down in the notebook and wrote a page 6D story. This time I am here and there are more reporters than we used to have people coming to house parties, and the people are so pressed into a house that I am afraid the floor is going to collapse. It is a different day for us for sure,” said Huckabee.

Within the last month, Huckabee has seen a major surge. “We have raised more money in the month of November than we raised in the entire campaign up until then. So something is going on that is just simply amazing,” said Huckabee.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

–CNN Assignment Desk Editor Marissa Muller

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – HDNet's Black and Brown forum, a debate where the Democratic party presidential candidates were allowed to ask each other questions, was plagued by technical difficulties during the first half hour of the broadcast.

There was no audio during some answers, and at one point Senator Barack Obama had to hand his microphone to rival Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who quipped, "Barack, I want to thank you for passing the baton in this race."

After a few more gaffes, the network took an 8 or 9 minute break, and offered an apology after working out the problems.

– CNN Political Producer Matt Hoye

Clinton was unable to travel into Iowa on Saturday for a pair of events with her fellow Democratic rivals.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN)–An audience of progressive activists booed Senator Hillary Clinton today during an exchange on immigration reform. At the Heartland Community Values Forum in Des Moines, Iowa, Clinton was asked whether “giv(ing) undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship” would be a priority in her first hundred days as President. Clinton told the audience "comprehensive immigration reform will be a high priority for me.” That response elicited boos – and no applause.

Asked again whether she’d take up the issue in her first hundred days she said,“Well you’ve got to get the Congress to pass the legislation in order for the President to do as much as possible, which I will do.” That was met by still more loud boos.

Clinton was taking part in the Forum by telephone - she had been grounded in New Hampshire after her last minute trip there Friday night. The event’s moderator told CNN she believes Clinton was hurt by her distance, more than the substance of her answer. “She gave a boilerplate response, when the audience wanted a conversation, a dialogue,” says Cathy Hughes, the moderator and Chairperson of Radio One and TV One. “She didn’t have a feel for the room. One of the advantages of being here in person you can feel the emotional energy.” After one of speakers attending the Forum told an emotional personal story, a voice that sounded like Clinton's could be heard saying “Can you hear me?”

Comments by John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama – who were present -were received with loud applause.

-CNN Congressional Correspondent Jessica Yellin

VIENNA, Virginia (CNN) – The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to deny Michigan’s request to hold its primary on January 15, but party leaders vowed to move forward with the event even though its delegates won’t count in the presidential nominating contest.

“This is about principle,” Debbie Dingell, a Michigan DNC member, said in an interview after the vote. “It is the only way we are going to get there.

Earlier in the year, the DNC voted to strip Florida of its delegates for scheduling its primary on January 29. Both states violated DNC rules by holding contests before February 5.

The Michigan vote came right after the DNC allowed Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to reschedule their presidential nominating contests to earlier dates in January.

“As expected, the (DNC) Rules and Bylaws Committee took action to protect the intent of the calendar as adopted by the DNC over a year ago,” said DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney.

The Democratic presidential nominating calendar will kick off with the Iowa caucuses on January 3, followed by the New Hampshire primary on January 8, the Nevada caucuses January 19 and will close with the South Carolina primary on January 26.

On February 5, more than 20 states will hold presidential nominating contests on what is described as "Super Tuesday."

– CNN Political Editor Mark Preston

Bad weather in Iowa forced Mitt Romney to cancel campaign events on Saturday..

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – A winter storm that's been coating cars and roadways with a layer of ice Saturday has kept Sen. Hillary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton out of Iowa, and it's caused former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to cancel his campaign events for the day.

Sen. Clinton was scheduled to speak at the Heartland Presidential Forum in Des Moines, but, according to her campaign, the Democratic presidential candidate will now be giving remarks via telephone. She is also set to participate in the Iowa Brown and Black Presidential Forum in Des Moines Saturday evening. As of this posting, a spokesman with the campaign says they're currently monitoring the airports, and there is no word on whether she'll make that event either.

Former president Clinton was scheduled to attend a rally on his wife's behalf in Norwalk, Iowa, but the campaign has cancelled that event due to "inclement weather."

But weather is bipartisan.

A spokesman for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said in a press release that their entire day's schedule in Iowa has been cancelled because of "severe weather, numerous closings, and adverse road conditions."

Des Moines International Airport was closed for about 6 hours Saturday morning but has since reopened.

UPDATE: Delaware Sen. Joe Biden's flight to Des Moines from Chicago was also cancelled Saturday. According to the campaign, he decided to brave the roughly six hour car ride instead.

-CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch

VIENNA, Virginia (CNN) – The presidential primary calendar was finalized Saturday, after months of uncertainty and just 33 days before the first votes are cast in Iowa.

The Democratic National Committee approved requests by Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to reschedule their nominating contests to earlier dates in January, while denying Michigan the right to hold its primary January 15. Michigan Democratic leaders vowed to move forward with the primary, even though none of its delegates will count towards the nominating convention and several Democratic contenders will not appear on the state ballot.

The votes by the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee were the final dominos to drop in what has been a contentious battle pitting state political parties against national party leaders over control of the presidential nominating calendar. Traditionally, Iowa and New Hampshire have held the first caucuses and primary in the race for the White House. But Democrats and Republicans in others states tried to deemphasize the influence of Iowa and New Hampshire in the 2008 election at the same time elevating their own states into more prominent positions. State Republicans were successful, while efforts by their Democratic counterparts failed.

The DNC invoked a death penalty on any renegade Democratic state party that violated its rules by holding a nominating contest before February 5. The Republican National Committee, too, imposed sanctions on GOP state parties that held contests before February 5, but the penalties amounted to the loss of only half of the state’s delegates.

Debbie Dingell, a Michigan DNC member, described the decision to strip her state of all of its delegates as “a win for the Republicans” because media attention will be focused on the GOP when the state holds its primary on January 15. Still, Dingell said that state Democratic leaders were committed to participating in the primary even if it didn’t count.

“This is about principle,” Dingell said. “It is the only way we are going to get there.”

And by get there, Dingell means overhaul the calendar entirely, a process that has already quietly begun.

Michigan is not alone in facing the DNC’s death penalty. Earlier this year, the DNC stripped Florida of its delegates for scheduling its primary on January 29.

“As expected, the (DNC) Rules and Bylaws Committee took action to protect the intent of the calendar as adopted by the DNC over a year ago,” said DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney.

Nevada joins Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina as the only states sanctioned by the DNC to hold a nominating contest in January. Meanwhile, Republicans have eight primaries or caucuses scheduled before February 5.

The road to the White House will begin in Iowa on January 3. But it will quickly turn in different directions for the Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls, and their paths will only cross twice in January - New Hampshire and Nevada - when those states hold nominating contests on the same day.

On February 5, more than 20 states will hold presidential nominating contests on what being described as "Super Tuesday."

The presidential nominating calendar:

January 3 – Iowa Caucuses (Republican & Democrat)

January 5 – Wyoming Caucuses (Republican)

January 8 – New Hampshire Primary (Republican & Democrat)

January 15 – Michigan Primary (Republican)

January 19 – South Carolina Republican Primary

January 19 – Nevada Caucuses (Republican & Democrat)

January 26 – South Carolina Democratic Primary

January 29 – Florida Primary (Republican)

February 1 – Maine Caucuses (Republican)

February 5 – More than 20 states hold nominating contests on what is being called “Super Tuesday.”

– CNN Political Editor Mark Preston

The DNC has sent "trackers" onto the campaign trail to record the moves of Republican candidates like Rudy Giuliani, above.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Democratic National Committee's internal archive of campaign tracking video is going public.

"FlipperTV" – launched just in time for tonight's CNN/YouTube Republican presidential debate – contains dozens of raw videos of the major Republican candidates' campaign stops that web users are invited to edit into their own campaign ads.

DNC Spokesman Dag Vega said they hear from "so many activists with the know-how and desire to keep Republicans accountable for their flip flops and exaggerations … we're giving them the tools to do that.

It comes after the practice of "tracking" was made famous by a Democratic volunteer who recorded Republican Sen. George Allen's controversial "Macaca" remark during a campaign stop in the 2006 Virginia Senate race. The video became a YouTube sensation and was arguably one of the reasons Allen lost the election.

The videos on the DNC site feature four Republican presidential candidates: Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and John McCain. The raw footage is just that – in some of the videos, the backs of audience members' heads are featured just as often as the candidates themselves.

The DNC describes the project as ongoing, and promises more video from the CNN/YouTube debate tonight.

– CNN Internet Reporter Abbi Tatton

Richardson said he won't campaign on Christmas.

MOUNT AYR, Iowa (CNN) – Gov. Bill Richardson said Monday he plans to be with his family in New Mexico—and not on the campaign trail—on Christmas Day, a holiday that falls just days before the January 3 Iowa caucus.

The Democratic presidential hopeful began a campaign event by joking with an Iowa audience that the state’s voters may be seeing a few candidates at their Christmas dinners this year.

Asked about whether or not he'd really be pushing for votes on the holiday, Richardson told CNN that Christmas, being a religious holiday, should be private.

"I'm not going to disturb Iowa voters on Christmas," Richardson said. "I'll be here the day before Christmas and the day after, but I think Christmas is [for] family. It's sacred."

The top three Democrats—all locked in a statistical dead heat in recent Iowa polls—have yet to say whether or not they'll campaign on Christmas.

A spokesman with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said Obama's schedule for Christmas is still "to be decided," and a spokesman with Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, said they have no answers on her schedule "that far out." Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards' Iowa spokesman said they are "still working out Edwards' late December schedule."

-CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch

Obama discussed his past drug use Saturday.

AUDUBON, Iowa (CNN) - Earlier this week in New Hampshire Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke candidly about his past experimentation with drugs and alcohol in high school, and on Saturday—after a question on medicinal marijuana—Obama was prodded a bit further and asked whether or not he had ever inhaled.

"I did," the senator from Illinois said to light applause. "It's not something I'm proud of. It was a mistake as a young man."

The question was a reference to a line made famous by former President Bill Clinton who, while admitting to trying marijuana, said he did not inhale.

"I never understood that line," Obama continued. "The point was to inhale. That was the point."

On the campaign trail on Saturday, GOP White House hopeful Mitt Romney said Obama's earlier comments set a bad example for young people.

"I agree with the sentiment that nobody's perfect and most of us, if not all of us, in our youthful years have engaged in various indiscretions we wouldn't want to have paraded in the front of a newspaper," the former Massachusetts governor said in New Hampshire. "On the other hand if we're running for president, I think it's important for us not to go into details about the weaknesses and our own failings as young people for the concern that we open kids thinking that it's ok for them."

On the issue of medicinal marijuana, Obama said that if the "best way to relieve pain and suffering is through medicinal marijuana," then it's something he's open to.

He added it would concern him much more if people were allowed to grow their own to use whenever they were simply "feeling really tense" and "needed a joint."

-CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch

Fred Thompson on "Fox News Sunday."

(CNN) – Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson accused FOX News of being unfairly critical of his White House bid, after anchor Chris Wallace asked the Tennessee Republican Sunday to respond to criticism that he has run a lackluster campaign.

“This has been a constant mantra of Fox, to tell you the truth,” Thompson responded to Wallace on “FOX New Sunday.”

The former Tennessee senator accused FOX of highlighting only the negative analysis offered by the network’s commentators and its own poll to support its conclusion that he is not running a successful campaign.

"For you to highlight nothing but the negative in terms of these polls, and then put on your own guys, who have been predicting for four months, really, that I couldn't do it, you know, kind of skews things a little bit," Thompson said.

The GOP hopeful was speaking directly to conservative commentators Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes criticism.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

– CNN Political Assignment Editor Marissa Muller

Huckabee says Romney has been "all over the board."

(CNN) - Mike Huckabee questioned GOP rival Mitt Romney’s social conservative credentials Sunday in an interview on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."

“Mitt has changed his position,” the former Arkansas governor said. “He’s been all over the board. But my conservatism has been consistent. When he was pro-abortion, I was still pro-life and always have been. When he was for gun control, I was against it. When he was against the Bush tax cuts, I was for them. When he was against Ronald Reagan's legacy and said he wasn't part of that Bush-Reagan thing, I was a part of that Bush-Reagan thing.”

Romney has long been the frontrunner in most Republican polls in Iowa, but surveys in the past two weeks indicate that Huckabee has closed the gap with the former Massachusetts governor. Huckabee told Blitzer that Romney’s changing views were a major reason why the polls have tightened in the Hawkeye State, which is the first state to vote in the presidential primary season.

Romney has been under attack from his Republican rivals for what they consider a shift on his stance on such conservative issues as abortion, gay marriage, taxes, illegal immigration and gun control.

Huckabee, who’s the only minister among the presidential candidates, added to that chorus today, saying that it’s “not just about where we are now, it’s where we have been and can be expected to be if elected president. It’s not just authenticity, but consistency.”

The Romney campaign fired back, saying “Governor Romney is only being attacked by other campaigns because of his growing support from Republican voters who believe he has the vision, the experience and the values to lead the nation.”

The campaign went on to say, “There are big differences between Governor Romney and Mike Huckabee on taxes, spending and immigration. Mike Huckabee has a very troubling record of raising taxes, increasing spending and advocating that taxpayer dollars for in-state tuition be provided to illegal immigrants. Mike Huckabee is wrong on those issues and he has found himself entirely at odds with many Republican voters as a result.”

With three days to go before the CNN/YouTube Republican presidential debate, it appears the race for the GOP nomination is getting even testier.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

A CNN satellite truck up early Sunday for reporter live shots.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN)– Sure, we’d rather be sleeping in on a Sunday morning, but we’re up early and on the job down here in Florida. We’re just outside the Mahaffey Theater along Bayshore Drive. The theater is where the Republican presidential candidates will face off Wednesday night in a CNN YouTube debate.

Inside the theater stage hands and production workers will spend all day building the stage and hanging lights and cables, in advance of the debate.

Outside, we’ll be doing live reports all day on the race for the White House. It’s an early start for us, but it’s nice and warm out, a lot warmer than Iowa or New Hampshire right now.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

Fred Thompson unveiled his tax plan on Sunday.

(CNN)–GOP White House hopeful Fred Thompson released a seven point tax plan Sunday, that he says will encourage new economic growth, and move the country toward a reform of the federal tax code.

"The solutions to challenges in our economy are found in the homes and small businesses of ordinary Americans, not in the halls of Washington," Thompson said in a press release from his campaign. "My plan allows Americans to have greater control of their own money."

Among the ideas his plan calls for, Thompson would permanently extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, signed into law by President Bush that are due to expire in 2010. He would also repeal the estate tax, and the Alternative Minimum Tax, while also reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to no more than 27 percent, and permanently extending small business expensing.

In addition, Thompson's plan also calls for allowing a choice for American taxpayers by allowing them to decide whether they remain under the current tax code, or opting for a flat tax code. The flat tax plan would contain two tax rates: 10% for joint filers on income of up to $100,000 ($50,000 for singles) and 25% on income above those amounts.

Thompson, along with his other rivals for the GOP nomination, is scheduled to be in St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday night for the CNN/You Tube debate.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Romney with his grandson, Parker in New Hampshire.

NASHUA, New Hampshire (CNN)– ­ Parker Romney is a natural. Campaigning with "Grandpa Mitt" Saturday, grandson Parker, who is only 18 months old, greeted hundreds of voters at a Granite state winter parade.

Parker, who is still learning how to speak, mimicked his grandfather–shaking hands and chirping in his tiny voice "Hi!" to each person that approached the former Massachusetts Governor.

Parker's father, Craig Romney (Mitt Romney's youngest son), called his son a "future politician in waiting."

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

–CNN New Hampshire Producer Sareena Dalla

Thompson said Romney "was one of the most adamant pro-choice advocates that I had ever seen."

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) – Two Republican presidential candidates slammed rival Mitt Romney's record on abortion Saturday, claiming Romney cannot be trusted on the issue because of his past support for abortion rights.

The attacks, some of the most pointed to date from his Republican opponents Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee, come one week after Romney's campaign sent out a mailer in South Carolina calling him "the only major presidential candidate who supports the Republican party's pro-life platform: a constitutional amendment banning abortion nationwide."

The mail piece touts Romney as "the Governor who sided with life … every single time," referring specifically to legislation Romney supported while in office in Massachusetts.

Thompson, the former Tennessee senator who opposes an abortion amendment and says the issue should be decided by individual states, grinned when asked about the mail piece and said that before Romney decided to run for president, he "was one of the most adamant pro-choice advocates that I had ever seen."

"Governor Romney is saying a lot of things that I'm saying now," Thompson told CNN after a campaign stop in Summerville. "We're saying some of the same things. The only difference is that he was saying diametrically opposing things all his career."

Thompson, who picked up the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee earlier this month, said that when voters consider Romney, they will have to decide "where he'll be tomorrow when the strong winds blow and when the strong pressure comes.'"

Huckabee also dismissed Romney's credentials on the issue and noted that he too supports a constitutional amendment banning abortions.

"When Mitt was out there on the other side of the issue and he was pro-abortion, I was marching the streets of Little Rock and passing a constitutional amendment in my state," Huckabee said while campaigning at a college football game in Columbia.

"Where Mitt comes up with that, I have no idea. You'll have to ask him how he can manufacture such ideas."

Romney spokesman Will Holley responded to the criticisms, saying that "Governor Romney is proudly pro-life and his record as Governor reflects that."

"Whether it was siding with life every single time an issue crossed his desk as Governor or his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment, Governor Romney has demonstrated his commitment to strengthening American families," Holley said.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

– CNN South Carolina Producer Peter Hamby

Mike Huckabee said he would strike Pakistan in the case of an 'imminent threat'.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) – Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Saturday he would take military action inside Pakistan's borders if there were an "imminent" terrorist threat within the country.

"We need to make sure we are clear that if we have an actionable target in Pakistan, that we will take action on that target because if that helps save and preserve American people, that's the foremost thing we need to be worried about," Huckabee said at a campaign event in Columbia.

"We need to remember that the next terrorist attack will most likely be postmarked Pakistan," he said. "I mean, that's where we will likely see the origins of a terrorist attack, given Osama bin Laden's whereabouts."

Huckabee's comments are similar to those of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who came under fire in August for saying at a speech, "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf will not act, we will."

Several of Obama's Democratic rivals, as well as Republican candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney, criticized Obama's Pakistan comments at the time, suggesting that using force within Pakistan could jeopardize the United States' relationship with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who remains a key U.S. ally in the Middle East despite the recent turmoil in the country.

Asked by CNN if such actions might violate Pakistan's sovereignty under international law, Huckabee said U.S. national security would take precedent.

"The sovereignty of the United States is the single most important sovereignty the American president has to deal with, and the safety of the American people," Huckabee said. "And certainly we would like to have the cooperation of Pakistan, and I think we should have it and will have it."

"But if there is an imminent threat to the American people, then I think it is the responsibility of a president of this country to do whatever he has to do to protect you me and the rest of us standing here today."

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– CNN South Carolina Producer Peter Hamby

Obama campaigned in Iowa on Saturday.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (CNN) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Saturday that his healthcare plan would bring costs down more than any of his opponents' plans would.

"Cost is the number one reason that 47 million Americans do not have health insurance," Obama said. "This is wrong, and it’s why my plan does more to cut the cost of health care than any other proposal in this race."

Obama said it would save the "typical family" $2,500 a year in healthcare premiums.

He added that the reason people don't have healthcare is because it's too expensive, not because they don't want it. He said that's why a mandated plan–what rivals Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are offering–won't necessarily solve the problem.

The Clinton campaign was quick to fire back.

"[Senator Obama] wrote a plan that leaves 15 million Americans without coverage," said Clinton spokesman Phil Singer in a statement. "That is unacceptable and Senator Obama should explain why he chose to leave so many people uninsured. When it comes to cutting costs, Senator Clinton's plan is just as aggressive, if not more so. The real difference is that her plan covers every American."

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– CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch