Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told a New Hampshire radio station Thursday he's taking a "hard look" at a run for president in 2012 and that there's "a very good possibility" he'll head to the Granite State early next year. 

"We're taking a hard look at it," Thune said of a potential 2012 bid. "It's obviously a very big undertaking but, as you know, the Granite State figures prominently into anybody who wants to succeed at that task." 

In an interview with a Concord radio station Thursday morning, Thune gave the proper deference to New Hampshire's status as the sight of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. He said while he currently has no trips scheduled to either New Hampshire or Iowa, that will likely change over the next few weeks. 

"We don't have visits on the schedule right now, but we're still putting together next year's schedule, and that's a very good possibility," Thune said. "Obviously, the early states and New Hampshire's critically important role in the primary process is something we fully recognize. ... If we decide to move forward, you can expect to see us up there." 

Thune again defended the tax cut compromise reached by President Obama and Senate Republicans, calling it "the best possible agreement that we could get." 

Thune's criticism earlier in the week of those who have come out against the compromise was widely seen as a shot at other potential 2012 hopefuls, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has come out against the deal, along with Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.  

But Thune said he wasn't "singling anyone out" with his comments, noting he was just making the point that it's always easier to criticize from the outside looking in. 

"A lot of the tax relief that's in this bill are things that Republicans and conservatives have fought for for a long time," said Thune, who noted that there are "a lot of, sort of, purists out there who have made the argument" that the compromise should be rejected.  

"But at the end of the day, you need to govern and you have to get the best possible deal that you can," he said. "And without this, taxes are going up on Jan. 1. That's a reality."

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said that he'll likely decide on whether or not he'll run for president sometime by the end of April.

The dark-horse contender for the GOP nomination in 2012 said he'd decide on whether or not to run for the White House after his state's legislature wraps up its session next spring.

"I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that," Daniels told Indiana news station WANE.

"In fairness to people from all over the place — many of whom I've only read about before — who like this idea [of Daniels running for president], I owe them some kind of an answer," he added.

The state's general assembly is set to finish its work by late April.

"We're concerned with the lack of conservative candidates with proven experience," said one GOP staffer on Capitol Hill with ties to efforts encouraging Daniels to run. "Anyone can have a policy position, but Daniels has experience turning around a crippled economy and budget. We don't need more pundits, we need a leader."

Daniels, a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been talked about as an under-the-radar candidate for president in 2012. He hasn't built a major organization or national profile the way other candidates have — though with the 2012 primary season appearing to be headed toward a later start, he has plenty of time.

The Indiana fiscal hawk has talked down running for president before, leading some observers to suspect that he might ultimately decline to run, especially in a crowded GOP field.

"The simple fact is, I don't plan to do it. I don't expect to do it, I really don't want to do it," he said in February. "I'm just very concerned about the condition and direction of the country and would like to have some input into a constructive Republican alternative that is presented in a way that has a chance of actually being enacted."

Florida Republicans are considering moving their presidential primary to avoid being penalized at the party's national convention.

The nascent proposal would see the 2012 primary moved to April, with a non-binding straw poll and debate held in January instead.

"It's good for the state, good for the party and will give a real boost to the candidates," state Sen. John Thrasher (R) told the St. Petersburg Times.

Part of the concern for Florida Republicans is that under national party rules, any state with a January primary like Florida's would lose half its delegates at the convention. The GOP 2012 convention will be held in Tampa.

Rep. David Rivera (R-Fla.) told the paper that such penalties won't matter because the vote at the convention will be symbolic.

"What's important is that Florida should have a real voice," he said.

Democrats, meanwhile, aren't particularly engaged on the issue of the 2012 primary date because President Obama isn't expected to face a challenge. 

Both parties have sought to discourage states from moving their primaries into January, when Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina hold their contests.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who was near the top of the list of potential challengers to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in 2012, said Wednesday he is leaning heavily against a run for the seat.

Jordan told Real Clear Politics that he's focused on his new role as chairman of the Republican Study Committee, and while he wouldn't completely rule out a run, he made a challenge sound unlikely. 

It leaves Republicans still searching for a top-tier candidate to run against Brown, whose approval rating stands at just 40 percent among Ohio voters. 

In a poll released Wednesday from Democratic-leaning Public Policy, Brown's support never reaches above 43 percent in hypothetical 2012 match-ups with former Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) or Jordan. DeWine, however, is also an unlikely candidate, given that he was just elected state attorney general last month. 

Other Republicans who have been mentioned as potential challengers include Lt. Gov.-elect Mary Taylor and Secretary of State-elect Jon Husted.

A new poll out Thursday shows overwhelming support for the tax-cut deal reached by President Obama and Senate Republicans among voters in the key presidential state of Pennsylvania. 

A full 69 percent of voters there approve of the compromise, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll, which also notes a slight uptick in Obama's approval numbers in the state. 

Obama won Pennsylvania with 55 percent of the vote in 2008, but has seen his ratings fall sharply in the state over the past two years.   

The president's approval is still largely split among Pennsylvania voters, with just 44 percent approving to 43 percent who disapprove. But that's an improvement from this past summer, when a Q-poll found 49 percent of voters in the state disapproving of the president's performance. 

The July poll also found 48 percent of voters who thought Obama didn't deserve election to a second term — that number is now 44 percent. 

Obama's overall numbers are still in the danger zone in Pennsylvania as he gets just 41 percent of the vote against a generic Republican in a hypothetical 2012 match-up, but the tax-cut compromise that has incensed the liberal wing of the Democratic Party is overwhelmingly popular with independents in the state.   

A full 72 percent of independent voters approve of the deal, along with 72 percent of Republicans. The number is just slightly lower among Democrats, with 66 percent approving of the compromise.

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released late Wednesday also showed widespread approval of the tax-cut compromise, which cleared the Senate easily Wednesday and is set for a vote in the House as early as today. That poll measured 59 percent of voters in agreement with the tax-cut deal.

President Obama beats all Republican challengers tested against him in a series of hypothetical 2012 match-ups, a new poll found Wednesday.

Obama enjoys leads over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) by varying margins, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday evening. 

The president maintains a small lead within the margin of error over a generic GOP opponent. Forty-two percent of U.S. adults said that they would probably vote to reelect Obama in 2012, while 39 percent said they'd prefer a Republican. Six percent were unsure, while 10 percent said it depended on the challenger to Obama.

But Obama performs even better against Romney, Palin and Thune — three Republicans thought to be interested in challenging Obama for control of the White House in two years.

Forty-seven percent would vote for Obama if Romney were the nominee, while 40 percent would vote for the former Massachusetts governor, the poll found.

Obama beats Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, 55 percent to 33.

The president also leads Thune, 47 percent to 27, though a much larger number of respondents to that hypothetical (17 percent) said they were not sure, reflecting that Thune is relatively unknown as a national Republican at this point.

A number of would-be GOP challengers to Obama went untested in the poll. The survey did not evaluate how former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) or Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) would fare against Obama.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) is "right to worry" about her political future, according to her former rival.

State Sen. Tarryl Clark (D) warned Bachmann will be facing a "much different political landscape" if she runs for reelection in 2012.

That's when she "will have to explain to voters what exactly she and the Republican-controlled Congress did to improve the economy, help people find a job or stay in their homes, and care for our seniors, veterans and children," Clark wrote in an e-mail to her supporters on Wednesday.

The Democrat's note came in response to one Bachmann sent to her supporters on Tuesday asking for contributions to help with a possible rematch against Clark, whom she bested by 12 points last month.

Bachmann asked for donations because "it appears [Clark] may be starting to amass an even larger war chest then she did in this last election cycle."

Clark raised $4.3 million last cycle, but has only about $66,000 left in the bank, according to her post-election Federal Election Commission report. Bachmann has slightly less than $2 million banked after raising more than $13 million.

The Democrat denied she has started fundraising for a 2012 bid. 

"The only thing I'm 'amassing' right now is quality time with friends and family, because the holidays are about coming together, not fear and divisiveness," she wrote.

Still, this ongoing exchange does more to suggest these women will face off again.

Lieberman said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) asked him to "sit down and talk" soon about the 2012 Senate race.

Outgoing Sen. Kit Bond (R) is taking a wait-and-see approach to endorsing anyone in the Missouri Senate GOP primary. 

"We'll wait and see," Bond told The Ballot Box when asked if he plans to endorse in the 2012 race. Bond is retiring at the end of this Congress.

The four-term senator's blessing could be helpful in what's expected to be a crowded Republican field.

Former Treasurer Sarah Steelman was the first to jump into the race for the nomination to face Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). Her recent announcement that she plans to run has Missouri Republicans worrying about the consequences of a hard-fought primary.

Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.), Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and former Missouri GOP Chairwoman Ann Wagner are also said to be considering runs.

Bond wouldn't say who else he thought would get into the race. "They'll have to make the announcements," he said.

The senator recently made headlines for becoming the latest Republican to express trepidation about Sarah Palin running for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

"I have reservations about anyone who quits as governor halfway through the term," he told the Kansas City Star in an interview.