Presidential races

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will give a speech to students, staff and the public at the University of Iowa on Oct. 29, according to the Iowa Press-Citizen. 

The announcement has prompted speculation about whether the 11-term congressman might be preparing for another presidential bid — he was a candidate in 2008 and finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses, but says he still hasn't decided about 2012.

The Daily Caller reported that the organization Americans for Liberty were first to see if he would agree to speak on the campus, which is located in Iowa City. He might also stump for GOP candidates while he's in the state.

Paul won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference's annual summit in February, but a recent Gallup survey has him trailing former GOP Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.), Mike Huckabee (Ark.) and Sarah Palin (Alaska) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. 

This will be his third visit to Iowa this year.

Former Pa. Senator Rick Santorum (R) announced Thursday  he has formed a political action committee in Iowa to donate "at least $25,000 to candidates before November."

The organization, to be known as the Iowa Keystone Political Action Committee, comes in addition to his federal PAC, "America's Foundation."

"I am eager to do more and the Iowa Keystone PAC will help us do that," Santorum said in a statement. "There are many strong conservatives running in Iowa and assisting them with financial support may help put them in the victory column come Election Day."

The announcement also noted he will appear in Iowa on Oct. 13 and 14 — his sixth trip to the state in recent months.

The former two-term senator, who subscribes to what he calls "compassionate conservatism," has said he is considering a run for president in 2012.

A poll conducted in mid-September at the annual Values Voters Summit ranked him sixth behind Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), former Govs. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.), Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), Sarah Palin (R-Ala.) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Governors' grades released by the libertarian Cato Institute are likely to impact the early horse race between potential 2012 GOP presidential contenders. 

Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty both received a top grade of "A" from the think tank and received praise for promoting pro-growth policies and tamping down spending.

"Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota has proposed pro-growth reforms, opposed tax increases, and been a relatively frugal budgeter," Cato wrote. "He has proposed cutting the state's high and uncompetitive corporate franchise tax, and he has repeatedly vetoed giant tax-hike packages passed by the legislature, including increases to gasoline taxes, beer taxes, wine taxes, and income taxes."

Cato called Jindal a "a top-performing governor with regard to both his tax and his spending policies."

Pawlenty has not said if he will enter the 2012 race, but most political observers expect the outgoing governor to join the field. Whether or not Jindal is interested in the race is less clear, but the grades could give both candidates a boost among Republican voters. 

Because the grades were only issued to sitting governors, other potential 2012 candidates such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) were not included.

Tax and spending issues have come to the forefront during the 2010 midterm campaign season due to the struggling economic recovery. Most Republicans have argued scaling back spending and the size of government is necessary for the economy to thrive.

Democrats have argued the opposite, that government stimulus is needed to spark the economy and urge employers to hire. 

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels also earned a high grade of "B." Cato called Daniels "a fiscal conservative, but he seems to focus more on balancing the state budget than shrinking the size of government."

They criticized his decision to raise taxes on cigarettes to fund healthcare spending and said he has not done enough to lower the state's high corporate tax rate.

Republican Governors Association Chairman Haley Barbour (Miss.), another potential 2012 candidate, received a "C" grade.

"Governor Barbour has a conservative reputation, but his tax and spending record over seven years as governor has not been very conservative," Cato said. "Barbour has proposed some small tax breaks and blocked some tax increases proposed by the legislature, but he has not pushed for pro-growth reforms such as marginal tax rate cuts. Barbour signed into law a tax increase on hospitals in 2008 and a tax increase on cigarettes of 50 cents per pack in 2009."

Cato also hit Barbour for overseeing large increases in the state budget before the recession, but praised him for lowering spending 14 percent this fiscal year.

Mitt Romney this weekend blamed the Obama administration for the still-struggling economy, labeling the past two years of White House policies an "abject failure."

“We are all unhappy with what has happened under this president,” Romney said Saturday during his keynote speech at the New Hampshire Republican Party's state convention, according to CNN. 

"This is the first time I can recall the government declaring war on private enterprise."

Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts and 2008 presidential candidate, hasn't officially decided whether he'll make a run at the White House in 2012. But the frequency of his public appearances — not to mention the sharp tone of his criticisms of Obama — have left many political prognosticators to suspect an announcement is forthcoming.

Meantime, Romney seems content to tour the country (he was at the Value Voters Summit in Washington earlier this month) to stump for Republicans in the midterm elections. 

"I can't predict the scale of the victory we're going to see in November, but I can predict that there's going to be a repudiation of the liberalism that has been running rampant in Washington D.C.," Romney said. 

"Let's bring Republican values back to Washington."

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said she'd "offer [her]self up" as a presidential candidate in 2012, if no other solid Republican candidate stepped forward.

Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, described the circumstances under which she'd run for president, hinting that the conservative figurehead might actually jump in the race to challenge President Obama in two years.

"A reason to run is if nobody else were to step up with the solutions that are needed to get the economy back on the right track and to be so committed to our national security that they are going to do all that they can, including fighting those on the extreme left who seem to want to dismantle some of our national security tools that we have in place," Palin said Wednesday evening on Fox News.

"If nobody else wanted to step up ... I would offer myself up in the name of service to the public," Palin added.

Palin's built up a base of political support through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter since having resigned as governor in the summer of 2009. She's written a pair of books and has barnstormed the country on behalf of conservative primary candidates this year.

She's taken a trip to Iowa, though she skipped over some of the traditional customs in which potential presidential candidates engage while in the Hawkeye State. Her political action committee, SarahPAC, also released a video earlier this week in which Palin praises the conservative Tea Party movement as "the future of politics."

But Palin's also managed to build a national profile and lucrative personal brand since leaving office, both of which might be exposed to greater scrutiny if she were to formally become a candidate for president. She acknowledged her comfortable life currently, which could represent a hedge against the chances that she runs in 2012.

"I also know that anybody can make a huge difference in this country without a title, without an office, just being out there as an advocate for solutions that can work to get the country on the right track. And that's where I am now," she said. "It's a comfortable place to be. And if my candidacy wasn't good for my family, if it wasn't good for the common sense conservative agenda that needs to be adhered to, then certainly I wouldn't run."

At the Values Voter Summit, Mike Huckabee blamed the country's economic woes on a loss of "character and integrity."

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Matt Kibbe, the president of FreedomWorks, told reporters on Monday that Tea Party activists need to focus on policy after 2010.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) hired a full-time staff member in Iowa and plans a trip back to the key state for presidential nominations.

A spokesman for the potential 2012 candidate confirmed a Des Moines Register report that Pawlenty had hired a staff member in the Hawkeye State, suggesting the governor is moving closer to a presidential bid.

"Governor Pawlenty is working hard to help elect conservatives across the country this fall," said Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant. "We have a lot of opportunity in Iowa, and we want to do everything we can to help there."

Pawlenty is also preparing another trip to the state, which hosts the first-in-the-cycle presidential nominating contests, in October. The Minnesota governor will attend an Iowa Freedom and Faith Coalition event and the Hamilton County Chili Supper. Pawlenty will also do events for state Sen. Randy Feenstra and state Rep. Dave Deyoe.

America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff," Arizona's Joe Arpaio, is headlining a GOP event in New Hampshire this weekend, prompting speculation that he may have interest in a presidential run in 2012. 

Arpaio, the controversial sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County, has made waves for his hardline stance on illegal immigration. 

He is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice, which claims Arpaio has not cooperated with an investigation into whether his immigration policing policies have violated civil rights. 

An Arpaio political adviser told CNN that the sheriff is not heading to the Granite State to test the presidential waters, but added: "People just don't go to New Hampshire if they are not interested in these things." 

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) on Wednesday said he’d decide whether to run for president after the November election.

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