Super PACs out spend campaigns in S.C. ad war blitz
Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) - If Mitt Romney loses to Newt Gingrich in South Carolina's Saturday primary, it won't be from a lack television ad spending.
Just in the last week, Romney's Republican presidential campaign dished out $550,000 to run campaign commercials in the Palmetto State, more than any of his three remaining rivals for the GOP nomination, according to estimates by Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), a company that tracks and estimates the costs of campaign ads running on the air.
It's a big day for politics in South Carolina Saturday on CNN. Tune in at 4 p.m. ET to see the candidates debate the issues from Thursday night's edge-of-your-seat debate then, at 6 p.m. ET, CNN's special live coverage of the South Carolina primary begins. See the results as they come in on on CNN, CNN.com/Live and the CNN mobile apps.
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Onslaught of TV ads in South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) - Turn on your television here in the Palmetto State, tune it to a local TV station, and during the commercial breaks you get inundated with a barrage of campaign spots.
Unlike Iowa and New Hampshire, which preceded South Carolina in the primary and caucus calendar, this first-in-the-south-primary state is experiencing an avalanche of ads. Many of those commercials are negative in nature, and many of them are coming not from the GOP presidential campaigns, but rather independent super PACs that are supporting the Republican candidates.
Tune in Thursday at 8 p.m. ET for the CNN/Southern Republican Presidential Debate hosted by John King and follow it on Twitter at #CNNDebate. For real-time coverage of the South Carolina primary, go to CNNPolitics.com or to the CNN apps or CNN mobile web site.
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Santorum's fundraising soars along with his poll numbers
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Rick Santorum's poll numbers aren't the only thing on the rise. The former senator from Pennsylvania's fundraising figures are also skyrocketing.
A senior Santorum adviser tells CNN the campaign raised more money in the last week than they raised on-line the past six months, adding that fundraising is between 300% and 400% higher on a daily basis than it was just ten days ago.
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Five things we learned from the CNN debate
Washington (CNN) - Can a debate without many zingers and gotcha moments be interesting and newsworthy? The answer appears to be yes.
Tuesday night's GOP presidential debate in the nation's capital was short on action, but long on drama. And the debate, like its 10 predecessors so far this campaign season, will most likely have an impact on the race for the Republican nomination.
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Five things we learned from Tuesday's GOP debate
Las Vegas (CNN) - Seven Republican presidential candidates engaged in a sometimes contentious debate Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, as bad blood boiled between front-runners and the surging Herman Cain found his opponents taking aim at his tax plan.
Here are five things we learned from the debate:
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Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll, narrowly besting Ron Paul
Ames, Iowa (CNN) - Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann on Saturday won the Ames Straw Poll, besting eight other Republican candidates in a nonbinding but politically significant vote in the first caucus state of Iowa.
The vote was billed as one that could make or break some campaigns. Six Republican presidential hopefuls on Saturday personally appealed for Iowans' vote, not including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She drew throngs at the Iowa State Fair on Friday but has yet to officially decide if she's running.
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Big bucks raised for gubernatorial battles
Washington (CNN) - The Democratic Governors Association will announce Thursday that it raised approximately $11 million the first six months of this year.
The DGA touts that their fundraising figure is more than double what it raised during the first six months of 2007, a comparable election cycle. The DGA also reports having $8.6 million cash on hand.
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Pawlenty in South Carolina for first time since June
Washington (CNN) - Former Minnesota Gov. and probable 2012 Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty returns to South Carolina Wednesday, his first visit since last June to the state that traditionally holds the first southern primary in the race for the White House.
Pawlenty's scheduled to address a luncheon at the Aiken Republican Club, as well as holding private meetings in the state. A Pawlenty aide tells CNN that he expects that the former two-term governor, in his comments in Aiken, will talk about need to return to common-sense principles including the importance of faith, balancing the budget, and promoting strong national defense. The themes are similar to what Pawlenty talked about in his speech last month in Washington, DC at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
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Do straw polls matter?
Washington (CNN) - OK. We admit it. We, along with the rest of the national political press corps, will be fixated Saturday on the results of the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Balloting will be open to the 11,000 conference-goers until Friday evening and the results will be revealed Saturday afternoon at conclusion of the three-day event, which is the largest annual gathering of conservative activists from across the country. And with just under a year to go until the start of the Republican presidential primary and caucus season, this year's event is considered the first real cattle call for probable and possible GOP White House hopefuls.
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Trump makes surprise stop at CPAC
Washington (CNN) - Donald Trump will speak Thursday at a major annual gathering of conservative activists that also doubles as the first major cattle call for probable contenders for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.
Trump will address the crowd at the Conservative Action Political Conference in the nation's capital, a representative from CPAC confirmed to CNN Thursday morning.
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