Presidential races

Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson has pledged at least $1 million to the super-PAC backing Mitt Romney, a major coup for the Republican candidate, reports CNN.

Adelson had been Newt Gingrich's biggest supporter during the primary — the $20 million he and his family gave Gingrich's super-PAC was the bulk of the money that fueled his campaign. He has discussed spending as much as $100 million of his own money to help Republicans this election cycle.

Romney recently met with the billionaire casino magnate and Gingrich in Las Vegas, during which visit Gingrich encouraged Adelson to donate to Romney's super-PAC, Restore Our Future.

Mitt Romney said Wednesday that Gov. Scott Walker's victory in the Wisconsin recall election was a repudiation of the policies of President Obama in a traditionally liberal state, arguing the win bodes well for his chances in November.

"Yesterday’s vote was won by the people of Wisconsin doing the right thing and voting for conservative principles," Romney said.

The Republican presidential nominee noted that Republicans "don't win a lot in Wisconsin," but said voters ultimately saw a conservative governor who "cut down down on the sale of government and reduced taxes" and decided they "want more of that."

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Mitt Romney's campaign kept the focus on Latino voters Wednesday by announcing the new leadership team of his Hispanic Steering Committee.

The group will be led by former George W. Bush administration Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, former Puerto Rico Attorney General Jose Fuente and Bush-era Small Business Administrator Hector Barreto.

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Mitt Romney must close the gap in support to win swing states such as Nevada, Colorado and Florida.

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The GOP presidential challenger said President Obama would try to pass blame for lagging jobs numbers on to his predecessor.

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President Obama’s campaign slammed Mitt Romney on Tuesday for setting a "double standard" to evaluate economic growth, blasting it with a series of three new infographics comparing the U.S. economy to that of Massachusetts's and a video featuring Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, charging Romney with “breath-taking" hypocrisy.

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A solar panel manufacturer that received state loans during Mitt Romney's time as governor of Massachusetts has filed for bankruptcy, prompting Democrats to argue that the Republican presidential nominee has been hypocritical in his attacks on the Obama administration's loans to failed green-energy company Solyndra.

Konarka Power Plastic, a solar technology company based in Lowell, Mass., filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection Friday. But like Solyndra, Konarka received government loans to help subsidize it's business, including $1.5 million in state loans from a renewable energy trust fund while Romney was governor.

The Obama campaign was quick to seize on the news, pointing out that the company's failure closely resembled that of Solyndra. Republicans have held up that company's failure as an example of waste under the president's stimulus program. During a campaign swing through California last week, Romney held an impromptu press conference outside the Solyndra factory, calling the setting "a symbol not of success, but of failure."

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A new $7 million ad buy from a prominent conservative group accuses President Obama of "reckless spending" and will air across key swing states in the November election.

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The Clark County, Nev., Republican Party has erected a billboard in Las Vegas criticizing Mitt Romney and touting Ron Paul, the latest sign of a fractious and dysfunctional state party structure in the crucial swing state.

The billboard, first reported on by the Las Vegas Sun, compares Paul to Ronald Reagan, and Romney to George Bush (it doesn't make clear which one). It also encourages viewers to visit oathkeepers.org, a libertarian website.

Paul supporters took over the Clark County Republican Party earlier this year, a bad sign for Romney considering the county covers more than two-thirds of Nevada's population. In response, the Republican National Committee and Romney's campaign have begun to build a "shadow GOP" in the state to allow them to avoid having to work with local party structures hostile toward their goal of electing Romney president.

With Romney rallying in the polls, Obama's campaign manager released a new video Monday to allay supporters’ concerns.

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