10. March 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Rick Santorum is the projected winner of the Kansas Republican Caucuses.  Santorum has 53% of the vote with Romney in second at 17%.  Gingrich is third with 16% and Ron Paul is in fourth at 13%.  There are 40 delegates at stake in Kansas and Santorum will win at least 25.  The next two elections are on Tuesday in Alabama and Mississippi.

To read an MSNBC article, please click here:

http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/10/10634057-santorum-wins-kansas-caucuses

Jim Sutliff

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5. March 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Mitt Romney won the Washington GOP caucuses with 38% of the vote.  Ron Paul came in second with 25% and Rick Santorun finished third with 24%.  The Romney victory is his fifth straight win and provides momentum heading into super Tuesday.  Super Tuesday will have 10 contests and there are 419 delegates at stake.  Currently, Romney is polling behind in key states like Georgia, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.  Romney and Santorum are within a few percentage points in Ohio.

To read a related Fox News article, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/03/gop-candidates-washington-caucuses/

James Sutliff

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2. March 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Moody’s lowered the credit rating for Greece to C from Ca.  Moody’s indicated that the debt restructuring would provide investors with significantly less than their face value.  Earlier in the week, Standard & Poor’s indicated that the restructuring plan for Greek debt was a selective default.

To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-02/greece-ratings-cut-by-moody-s.html

Jim Sutliff

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28. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe has announced that she will not run for re-election in 2012.  The Republican Senator was first elected in 1994 and was expected to win in 2012.  Democrats are expected to campaign heavily for the open seat in November.  Even with the retirement of Senator Snowe, Republicans are likely to win a majority in the Senate.

To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-28/maine-gop-sen-snowe-won-t-seek-re-election.html

James Sutliff

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26. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer endorsed Mitt Romney for President.  The Arizona Republican Presidential primary will be held this Tuesday and is a winner-take-all contest.  Mitt Romney is the favorite in the Arizona and Michigan primaries on Tuesday.  However, recent polls have indicated that Rick Santorum has significantly closed the gap and could pull off an upset.

To read a related Yahoo! News article, please click here:

http://news.yahoo.com/arizona-governor-endorses-romney-primary-142152222.html

Jim Sutliff

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23. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

The four Republican Presidential candidates met for the Arizona GOP debate in Phoenix.  There are 29 delegates up for grabs in the winner-take-all Arizona primary.  Michigan is also holding their Republican primary on February 28th and will award 30 delegates.  Recent polls indicate that Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are in a statistical tie in the two states.

To read a related Fox News article, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/22/gop-candidates-clash-ahead-high-stakes-debate-in-arizona/?test=latestnews

James Sutliff

Posted in 2012, Debate, Primary, Presidential, Republican, Election, General, Politics, DC | No Comments »

19. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Congress passed a measure to extend the payroll tax cut for the remainder of 2012.  The measure passed the House 293-132 and the Senate 60 -36.  In the Senate, 14 Republicans voted for the measure and 5 Democrats and 1 Independent were opposed.  The bill will lower payroll taxes for 160 million workers.

To read a related Roll Call article, please click here:

http://www.rollcall.com/news/congress_seals_the_deal_sends_payroll_tax_bill_to_obama-212521-1.html?pos=hbtxt

Jim Sutliff

Posted in Tax, Economy, Budget, Republican, Politics, Business, Democrat, General, Administrative | No Comments »

16. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

The House and Senate could vote on the payroll tax deal as early as Friday.  Four Democratic Senators and all 13 House Representatives at the payroll tax conference signed the agreement.  Republic Senators did not sign the agreement but that should not prevent passage of the tax cut measure.  The payroll tax cut agreement resolves an issue early in the election year.

To read a related Roll Call article, please click here:

http://www.rollcall.com/news/conferees_sign_payroll_tax_deal-212503-1.html?pos=hftxt

James Sutliff

Posted in Congress, Tax, Economy, Presidential, Budget, 2012, Republican, Regulatory, Democrat, Business, Election, General, Politics, Administrative | No Comments »

13. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Republican leaders in the House are supporting the extension of the payroll tax cut without reductions in spending.  This clears a major hurdle in negotiations to extend the payroll tax cut which applies to 160 million workers.  The payroll tax cut is set to expire at the end of February.  The payroll tax cut extension may reach the House floor by the end of the week.

To read a related Reuters article, please click here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/usa-taxes-payroll-idUSL2E8DDC0D20120213

Jim Sutliff

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11. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Mitt Romney held on to win the Maine caucus with 39% of the vote.  Ron Paul finished a close second with 36%.  The Romney victory ends a three state losing streak by the candidate.  There were 24 delegates at stake in the Maine Republican caucus.  The candidates will turn their focus to Arizona and Michigan which hold primaries at the end of February.

To read a related Fox News article, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/11/republican-candidates-maine-caucuses/

James Sutliff

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9. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Santorum swept the three contests in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri.  The Santorum victories have raised the possibility of a brokered convention.  Republican Presidential primaries in Arizona and Michigan are the focus of most campaigns.  The Arizona Republican primary is a winner take all contest.  There are 29 delegates at stake in Arizona and 30 in Michigan.

To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-08/santorum-wins-non-binding-primary-in-missouri.html

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2012, Caucus, Primary, Presidential, Republican, Fundraising, General, Politics, Election | No Comments »

7. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Mitt Romney added to his lead in delegates with a win in the Nevada Caucus.  Romney finished first with almost 50% of the vote and Newt Gingrich came in second with 22%.  The next three states to hold elections are Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri.  The candidates need 1,144 delegates to secure the Republican nomination for President.

To read a related Roll Call article, please click here:

http://www.rollcall.com/news/Romney-Wins-Big-in-Nevada-212125-1.html

James Sutliff

Posted in Presidential, 2012, Caucus, Republican, Politics, Election, General, Democrat | No Comments »

4. February 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Mitt Romney won the Florida primary with 46% of the vote and gained all 50 delegates.  Newt Gingrich finished second with 32% and Rick Santorum came in third with 13%.  Romney leads the race for the Republican nomination with 87 delegates.  Gingrich has 26 delegates and Santorum has 14 delegates.  The number of delegates required to secure the Republican nomination is 1,144.  The next contest will be Nevada on February 4th.

To read a related Fox News article, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/31/romney-leading-among-seniors-hispanics-in-florida-exit-polls/

Jim Sutliff

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26. January 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

The CNN Republican Presidential Debate is being held tonight in Jacksonville Florida.  Fireworks are expected between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.  Recent polling indicates that Gingrich and Romney are neck and neck in Florida.  The Florida Republican primary is winner take all and there are 50 delegates at stake.

To read a related Reuters article, please click here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/27/us-usa-campaign-debate-idUSTRE80P1UG20120127

James Sutliff

Posted in 2012, Debate, Primary, Presidential, Republican, Election, General, Politics, Democrat | No Comments »

22. January 2012 by Jim Sutliff.

Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary and has the lead in delegates for the Republican Presidential nomination.  Gingrich finished with 40% of the vote and gained momentum heading into Florida.  Romney came in second with 27% and Santorum finished in third with 17% of the vote.  The Gingrich win should help with fundraising as well as building a campaign infrastructure.  The Florida primary will be held on January 31st and is a winner take all contest.  Also, Florida is a closed primary and only Republicans are allowed to vote in the contest.  In addition, there is expected to be over 200,000 votes cast through early voting and absentee ballots.  The next Republican Presidential debate will be held in Tampa on January 23rd.  There are 50 delegates at stake in the Florida Republican primary.  After Florida, the next contests are the Nevada and Maine Republican caucuses scheduled for February 4th.

To read a related Roll Call article, please click here:

http://www.rollcall.com/news/Gingrich-Rolls-to-Victory-in-South-Carolina-211662-1.html?pos=hftxt

To read a related MSNBC article, please click here:

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/22/10210334-first-thoughts-the-race-is-on

Jim Sutliff

Posted in Economy, Infrastructure, Presidential, 2012, Primary, Debate, Tax, Republican, Election, Democrat, Fundraising, General, Politics, DC | No Comments »