The 2012 Republican Presidential Primaries have yielded
some interesting results thus far. Out of the three primary votes, three
different winners have arisen. This post gives a brief background on the winner
of each primary to this point.
THE CANDIDATES
About Newt
Gingrich
Newt Gingrich was the 58
th Speaker of the U.S.
House of Representatives. He co-founded the Congressional Military Reform
Caucus and the Congressional Aviation and Space Caucus in 1981. He founded the
Conservative Opportunity Society, and he also endorsed a bill to make Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a national holiday. Mr. Gingrich was a
pioneer of the Contract with America, under which he was instrumental in
passing Welfare Reform, balancing the federal budget, and cutting capital gains
tax under the Clinton Administration. He formed the Center for Health
Transformation in 2003 as an effort to transform healthcare in the 21
st
century. Mr. Gingrich has been married three times. He earned his BA from Emory
University and his MA and PhD from Tulane University.
About Mitt Romney
The former CEO of Bain & Company and founder of Bain
Capital, Mr. Romney has decades of experience in the private sector. As the
Governor of Massachusetts, he managed to bring the state out of debt without
raising taxes, pioneer a health care program that was modeled by the Obama
Administration, and spark job creation. He also had a major hand in saving the
2002 Winter Olympics from collapse. He has five sons and sixteen grandchildren,
and he has supported his wife in her fights against multiple sclerosis and
breast cancer. Mr. Romney earned his BA from Brigham Young University and his
MBA and JD from Harvard University.
About Rick
Santorum
Rick Santorum is a former U.S. Senator from the State of
Pennsylvania. Mr. Santorum was a member of the “Gang of Seven” that exposed the
Congressional Banking and Congressional Post Office scandals, and he was an
author and major player in passing the Welfare Reform Act in 1996. He served
eight years on the Senate Armed Services Committee and was instrumental in
passing legislation that outlawed Partial Birth Abortion. His views, including
opposition to same-sex marriage, are considered socially conservative. Mr. Santorum
has seven children with his wife, Karen, and is the author of the New York Times Bestseller It Takes a Family. He earned his BA and
JD from Pennsylvania State University and his MBA from University of
Pittsburgh.
THE PRIMARY
RESULTS
Iowa – 1/3/2012
The initial count of votes suggested that Mr. Romney had
won Iowa by 8 votes (30,015 for Mr. Romney vs. 30,007 for Mr. Santorum). Following
a recount, Mr. Santorum was declared the true winner of Iowa, securing 29,839
votes. Mr. Romney fell into second place with 29,805 votes; only 34 less than Mr.
Santorum. Mr. Gingrich was in fourth place with 13.3% of the vote.
New Hampshire – 1/10/2012
Mr. Romney won in New Hampshire with 39.4% of the vote. Newt
Gingrich placed 4th with 9.4% of the vote, and Rick Santorum placed
5th with 9.3% of the vote.
South Carolina –
1/21/2012
Mr. Gingrich won in South Carolina with 40% of the vote,
followed by Mitt Romney, who received 27% of the vote. Mr. Santorum placed 3rd
with 17% of the vote.
Ron Paul has not won any of the primaries so far, but he has been a contender and is not ruling himself out just yet.
So the question becomes, who would you vote for to be the
Republican Nominee in the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election? Cast your vote
below!
Who do you want as the Republican Nominee in the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election?
