GOP Presidential Primary

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) leads big in an early test of the 2012 New Hampshire primary.

Forty percent of the state's Republican voters would choose Romney in a hypothetical field of 2012 contenders, according to a WMUR Granite State Poll released Monday.

Ten percent of the state's GOP voters would vote for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 7 percent would prefer former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), and 7 percent would cast their ballot for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).

New Hampshire boasts the first formal primary, following Iowa's caucuses, which are treated as the first nominating contest. Those two states, along with South Carolina's primary, are seen as pivotal to a candidate's ability to build momentum toward winning his or her party's nomination.

The showing is particularly encouraging for Romney, the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts. He finished second to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2008 primary, with 31 percent of the vote, and has worked to build a base of political support in the state through campaign stops and a state-level political action committee.

Other high-profile candidates fare less well, though the contest is still almost a year away. Six percent of Republican voters favor former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), and 6 percent would elect former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R). Five percent would vote for Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), 3 percent for real estate mogul Donald Trump, 1 percent for former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and 1 percent for Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R).

The poll, conduced Jan. 28 through Feb. 7, has a 5.2 percent margin of error.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) snagged the lead-off speaking slot in an upcoming series of events hosted by Iowa Republicans.

Barbour had to settle for a relatively low-profile Saturday spot at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week. But he'll be out front when the Iowa Republican Party begins its new "Chairman's Dinner" series on March 15 in the Quad Cities.

The Iowa GOP announced Barbour would be its first speaker in what the party expects to be a year-long series of events featuring a "national political leader."

The events will help build party infrastructure, according to Iowa GOP Chairman Matthew Strawn.

"Building a statewide organization to compete with an Obama re-election machine will require unprecedented coordination and hard work by Iowa Republicans," Strawn said in a statement. "By taking the state GOP out of Des Moines and to every corner of Iowa, we will be prepared for that fight."

Speakers for upcoming events will be announced shortly, according to the party.

Newt Gingrich continues to edge closer to launching a presidential run. But unlike other potential candidates who have sharpened the tone of their rhetoric as the campaign nears, Gingrich remains relatively cerebral in his assessment of the opposition. 

Earlier last week he said on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" that he will make a decision by early March. And on Sunday, he said on ABC's "This Week" that it could be sooner than that.

"I’ll probably make a decision by the end of this month about whether or not to set up an exploratory committee," the former House Speaker said.

Meanwhile, Gingrich continues to court the conservative base of the GOP with a more nuanced approach than his potential rivals'.

He addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday — where he invited President Obama to speak next year, albeit with some conditions — and then flew to Kansas on Friday, where he appeared at an event with former Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.).

The two men took questions at a banquet for the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce. Asked about the direction of the country since President Obama took office, Gingrich used a surprisingly light touch.

"I think the challenges we face are all dramatically bigger than President Obama, and almost all of them preceded him," said Gingrich.

Although he went on to criticize the president, Gingrich's response was still a tacit acknowledgement of the Democrats' longstanding claim that Obama has been digging the country out of a hole created by his predecessor.

Utah voters prefer former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) to former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. by a margin of more than 2 to 1, a new poll found.

The Deseret News/KSL-TV poll found that 56 percent of Utahans would vote for Romney for president, and just 26 percent would vote for Huntsman.

Even worse for Huntsman, he lags even further behind Romney among Republicans: Seventy-two percent said they would vote for Romney, while just 15 percent would vote for Huntsman.

Utah is a significant state for Huntsman and Romney, as both possible GOP presidential contenders are Mormon, and both attended college there.

The poll reflects a number of obstacles Huntsman faces if he decides to run. Last month he announced his resignation, effective at the end of April, as the Obama administration's ambassador to China — a position some have said automatically kills any chance he has at winning the GOP nod.

Moreover, as governor, Huntsman took unpopular positions among conservatives on hot-button issues like climate change, civil unions and immigration.

That Huntsman trails Romney so badly, especially at time when the Obama administration’s healthcare reform law is so unpopular among conservative voters, is somewhat surprising. As Massachusetts governor, Romney implemented a state-run healthcare plan and individuals were required to have insurance, as is the case with Obama’s plan.

When Romney ran for president in 2008, he won the GOP primary in Utah with 90 percent of the vote.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) defended his background as a longtime Washington lobbyist Sunday.

Herman Cain told conservative activists the country is being ruined by "stupid people" and said liberals attempt to discredit President Obama's critics with accusations of racism.

Cain, a one-time Senate candidate and former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, is the most prominent African-American considering a run for the GOP presidential nomination.

"They call me racist too because I happen to disagree with the president," Cain said at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday. "If you disagree about their liberal leader you must be a racist no matter what color you are."

Cain said his disagreement with Obama was based on policies, not race. "Some black people can think for themselves," he said.

He told the crowd: "You are not racist."

Last month, the 65-year-old formed a presidential exploratory committee and said he's considering launching a bid for the GOP nod.

During his speech to CPAC, Cain accused the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats of enacting too much regulation and keeping taxes too high.

"Stupid people are ruining America," he said.

In addition to railing against "Obamacare," Cain called for a scraping of the current tax code. "The only way to fix our messed up tax code is to pull it out and put in a whole new system," he said.

--Updated at 8:53 p.m.

Mitt Romney said President Obama's foreign policy has made the world "more dangerous" but didn't cite the president's handling of Egypt.

The Egyptian government announced President Hosni Mubarak's resignation shortly after Romney addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday morning.

Several other possible presidential candidates in 2012 did address the president's handling of the diplomatic crisis. The situation in Egypt has been uncertain — Murbarak was expected to step down Thursday night and left Washington stunned when he stayed in power.

Speaking Thursday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said that Obama is afraid to "identify the enemy."

"President Obama has refused to look at the situation in Iran and Egypt and around the world and call evil, evil," said Santorum, who argued the president's approach has been inconsistent.

Newt Gingrich called the administration's handling of Egypt "amateurish."

"The Obama administration is wrong on terrorism, wrong on Iran, wrong on the Muslim Brotherhood, wrong on Hezbollah, and being wrong on that many national security items is an enormously dangerous thing," the former House Speaker said at CPAC Thursday.

—This post was last updated at 11:53 a.m.

During a surprise appearance before conservative activists Thursday, Donald Trump said he's considering running for president because America has become the "laughing stock of the world."

The celebrity businessman said he would decide by June whether he will seek the GOP nomination. He cited his success in business and his anger that countries like China are pulling ahead of the United States in some areas as reasons for potentially seeking the presidency.

"America today is missing quality leadership and foreign countries have quickly realized this," he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "The world is treating us without respect."

Part of the reason for the lack of leadership is that many potential candidates are unwilling to go through the intense scrutiny of running for public office, Trump said.

Whether the real estate mogul, who has enjoyed a colorful life, is willing to go through that same scrutiny remains to be seen. It's certain, though, that if he runs, Trump will be a magnet for press coverage.

That's partly because of his trademark New York bravado, which was on display Thursday to the chagrin of some in the audience.

"I have a reputation for telling it like it is," Trump said. "I've won a lot of great victories [and I] may be willing to put that to work."

During his address, several people chanted for Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who was a dark horse presidential candidate in 2008.

Trump said Paul could never win. "He's just [got] zero chance of getting elected," said Trump.

Some people started booing Trump, who was nonplussed.

"I'm also well acquianted with winning and that's what this country needs right now."

He said he was pro-life, against gun control and would fight to end "Obamacare" and replace it with something else.

"If I decide to run, I will not be raising taxes," he said, but would raise funds from other countries that "are screwing us."

Newt Gingrich called for President Obama to be the keynote speaker at next year's gathering of conservative activists, "if he earns it."

Gingrich was greeted with a standing ovation as he made his way into the ballroom at the Washington Wardman Park Marriott for a midday speech to the Conservative Political Activist Conference (CPAC) on Thursday.

The former House Speaker's lengthy address contained detailed policy proposals such as reforming the Environmental Protection Agency, and included several verbal shots at the media and the president.

"The Obama administration is wrong on terrorism, wrong on Iran, wrong on the Muslim Brotherhood, wrong on Hezbollah; and being wrong on that many national security items is an enormously dangerous thing," said Gingrich.

He said the president's approval rating "remains relatively high because the media loves him," and cited the recent Time magazine cover where Obama was featured with President Ronald Reagan.

"I want the elite media to know something," he said, launching into a paraphrase of the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas). "I knew Ronald Reagan." Gingrich paused to soak up some applause. "I began working with Ronald Reagan in 1974 when I first ran for Congress. And I hate to tell this to our friends at MSNBC and elsewhere: Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan."

Again citing Reagan, Gingrich called on the organizers of CPAC to do something "bold."

"I want us to offer President Obama the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at CPAC in 2012, if he earns it," he said. 

Obama could earn the invitation by signing several Republican proposals such as "the repeal of Obamacare" into law, Gingrich said.

"I don't actually personally believe he'll make it here next year, but still ... We're all having a good time why shouldn't he get to come and have a good time?"

He warned "liberals" that next year's elections could bring more Republican victories.

Pointing out there were 2,000 more registrants at the 2011 CPAC than last year, Gingrich said, "2010 was the appetizer, 2012 is the entree."

Gingrich left the stage and walked into a hallway where he and his wife, Callista, were greeted by a throng of reporters and television cameras. He didn't take questions and didn't talk about his 2012 plans. He is said to be considering a presidential bid.

-- This post was updated at 2:08 p.m.

Newt Gingrich is set to pitch his plan for energy independence to a gathering of convservative activists on Thursday.

The former House speaker will take the stage at Conservative Political Action Conference to make the familiar plea for a break from dependence on Middle Eastern oil and a switch to a "comprehensive energy strategy that maximized all forms of American energy development," according to notes on the speech released by Gingrich's office.

He'll also reiterate his call for the Environmental Protection Agency to be replaced by a department "that achieves better environmental outcomes through an emphasis on the transformative power of new technology and a collaborative approach with industry and state and local governments." The current incarnation of the EPA, Gingrich will argue, "does more to kill jobs and halt American energy development than it does to protect the environment."

Gingrich is also set to travel to Iowa again on Saturday and tour the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.