Presidential races

Russ Feingold, who lost Tuesday, should challenge President Obama from the left in 2012, according to a GOP pollster.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fares best against President Obama in a test of several Republicans' strength nationally in 2012.

Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) have an early advantage on Obama, two years before voters head to the polls for the next presidential election, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll released Thursday.

Fifty-two percent of registered voters would elect Huckabee over Obama if the 2012 election were held today, while 44 percent would choose Obama. Romney enjoys a 50-45 percent advantage over Obama.

Two other candidates tested against Obama — former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) — fared less well.

Fifty-two percent of registered voters would choose Obama if he were running against Palin, who drew support from 44 percent. Obama would best Gingrich 49-47 percent.

The polls underscore the public's frustrations with Obama as expressed in Tuesday's elections, when a Republican wave helped the GOP retake the House and eat into Democrats' Senate majority. The party is now shifting, though, to 2012, the opportunity that presents Republicans' "only" real option to being able to advance their agenda, according to remarks on Thursday by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Republican voters shift now to determining which candidate is most viable to take on Obama in 2012. The CNN poll suggested an early pecking order in the primary races over the next two years.

Twenty-one percent of Republicans said their choice would be Huckabee, followed by 20 percent who backed Romney, 14 percent who supported Palin, 12 percent who wanted Gingrich and 7 percent who preferred Rep. Ron Paul (Texas.). Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.) all checked in at 3 percent.

The poll, conducted Oct. 27-30, has a 3 percent margin of error for registered voters and a 4.5 percent margin of error among the subsample of Republicans.

Mitt Romney said that it would be "great" for former Alaska Gov. Palin to run for president in 2012. 

House Minority Leader John Boehner said Sunday that Obama's focus on Ohio has little to do with Tuesday's elections.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said he'll file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with federal agencies to obtain information about Democrats' work to promote healthcare reform.

Pawlenty hit the Democratic National Committee (DNC) with his own FOIA request after ABC News reported on Wednesday that the DNC had filed similar requests with the Pentagon for information on a series of potential Republican presidential candidates in 2012, including the Minnesota governor.

"Next week's election isn't even here — and it will largely be a referendum on the president's failure to create jobs, out-of-control government spending and an ill-conceived healthcare bill — but I find it ironic that they have given up the current fight and are instead so focused on the president's own reelection," Pawlenty said in a statement.

"But since they asked, and since they are so worried, I have some questions of my own about his time in the White House," he added. "For example, what was the DNC's role in selling ObamaCare? Did Obama's political advisers know the true costs of ObamaCare?"

The DNC's actions are seen as fairly typical for a party preparing for the next election — albeit a bit early. The party is building opposition research files against candidates, and has already taken chances so far this year to jab at Pawlenty and other 2012 contenders, like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R).

Pawlenty's FOIA request will specifically target the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and "other relevant agencies" for information about the timing of ads, polling and other promotional actions taken by the DNC to bolster President Obama's healthcare bill.

“That Tim Pawlenty, who has taken more trips to Iowa and New Hampshire this year than to several counties in Minnesota — the state he’s supposedly governing — would talk to anyone about where their focus is is certainly funny," shot back DNC national press secretary Hari Sevugan. "Maybe if he were focusing on his job, rather than angling for another one, his poll numbers at home would be better."

Updated 5:19 p.m.

Forty-one percent of likely South Dakota voters said Sen. John Thune should make a White House run.

Former GOP Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) suggested Wednesday that he is leaning toward entering his party's potentially crowded presidential primary field. 

The senator, who lost his seat in 2006, said that he has been pulled "deeper and deeper in this process" as he has gone through the motions of exploring a run for the White House.

"As I've sort of traveled down this road, I feel like paths are opening up, doors are opening up, and it just sort of feels like I'm being pulled along and getting deeper and deeper involved in this process," he told the Patriot-News. "So we'll wait and see, but for now, I'm just trying to be open to doing what I think is in the best interests of our country."

Santorum has signaled over the past few months that he is interested in running for president, campaigning for candidates and traveling to early-primary states such as Iowa.

But Santorum, who focused on social issues during his Senate career, has not raised as much money as many other potential GOP presidential candidates, such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.).

The former senator appeared to be self-aware of his ambitions in the interview, acknowledging that his actions over the past few months have attracted attention.

"My original visit when certain things got rolling was to Iowa to give a talk, and I got the very clear impression that when you go to Iowa, people pay attention to what you have to say because they think, 'Hey, you might be running for president,' and so they have to pay attention to you," he said.

"So I've been going around and trying to add to the debate, and make sure the issues that I care about — national-security issues, moral, cultural issues, as well as the economic issues — are being discussed and debated, and that we have some clarity," he added.

h/t GOP 12

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) on Thursday appeared bearish on the possibility that he will enter the field of 2012 GOP presidential candidates.

In an appearance on a conservative podcast, one of the guests asked Daniels if his 83-year-old father in Minnesota would one day have the chance to vote for him.

"Well, if you want to naturalize him and bring him to Indiana," he said, drawing laughter from hosts of the podcast.

"I'm thinking maybe more of a national election of sorts," the guest responded.

"Well, tell him — at 83, he shouldn't be holding his breath anyway, but tell him not to hold his breath," Daniels answered.

The former Office of Management and Budget director's name has been bandied about as a potential dark horse candidate for president. Observers cite his state's balanced budget as one attribute that could help him during a time of high national debt and deep federal budget deficits.

The libertarian Cato Institute recently gave him a grade of "B," a high mark but one that trailed Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) among potential presidential candidates. 

Though he has not closed the door on a bid, Daniels has given less of an indication than other potential candidates that he might run.

In comparison to other contenders that have national political action committees that donate money to candidates, Daniels only has an Indiana-based PAC that assists candidates in the Hoosier State. 

But the governor has reportedly made the rounds among GOP insiders, signaling he is still contemplating a bid.

Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty's three political action committees took in almost $778,000 in the third fundraising quarter, the last before the November midterm elections. 

Pawlenty, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, raised $777,980 between July 1 and Sept. 30, the vast majority ($556,799) coming through his Freedom First PAC. The governor's Iowa and New Hampshire PACs took in $135,505 and $85,676, respectively.

The governor's cash flow continues to trail behind the top two fundraisers in the field of possible GOP presidential primary candidates — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Romney raised $1.7 million in the third quarter and has raised $5.3 million through the end of September. Palin took in $1.2 million in the third quarter, putting her year-to-date total at $2.5 million. Pawlenty has raised a total of $1.8 million this year.

A Pawlenty spokesman noted that the governor raised the money he did while making trips to Iraq, Afghanistan and China while performing his duties as governor and raising money for the Republicans Governors Association. 

The three PACs have nearly $668,000 cash-on-hand through the end of September — over the three-month period, it doled out over $113,000 to GOP candidates around the countries, including the Senate campaigns of Christine O'Donnell (Del.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Dan Coates (Ind.), Carly Fiorina (Calif.), John Raese (W.Va.) and Ron Johnson (Wisc.)

He also doled out cash to the Republican parties of two early presidential primary states, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and he gave to the campaigns of several Iowa lawmakers.

Pawlenty's camp announced a number of endorsements in Michigan Thurdsay: the governor will donate $1,000 each to GOP Reps. Dave Camp, who could be the Ways and Means Committee chairman if Republicans take control of the House, and Thaddeus McCotter, a member of leadership.

He is donating the same amount to House candidates Dave Benishek, former Rep. Tim Walberg, Rob Steele, Bill Huizenga and Rocky Raczkowski. He is also giving a hand to GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Snyder, who is leading his Democatic opponent Virg Bernero in the polls. 

—This post was updated at 12:39 p.m. 

Indiana Republicans may witness the formation of the ultimate GOP 2012 presidential ticket.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will be the keynote speaker at the state party's annual fall dinner on Oct. 26 in Indianapolis. He'll be introduced by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R). Both men are on the list of contenders for the Republican presidential nomination.

Christie has vehemently denied he's interested in making a White House run. But the first-term governor has been traveling widely this cycle in support of Republican gubernatorial candidates, which has fueled speculation he'll consider entering the national arena.

Daniels, meanwhile, has long been mentioned as a possible candidate. During a trip to Washington last February, he refused to rule out making a bid for the Oval Office.