Endorsements of Mitt Romney remain tepid
Rick Santorum dropped his presidential campaign nearly a month ago, so a meeting with presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney on Friday would have seemed like the perfect opportunity to endorse Romney.
Gingrich formally gives up presidential race
The political comeback of Newt Gingrich has ended in failure with his formal announcement that he has ended his bid for the US presidency.
Romney’s path to nomination clears as Gingrich exits
Mitt Romney's path to the Republican nomination has cleared further as former threat Newt Gingrich begins taking steps to shut down his debt-laden campaign and endorse him.
Romney all but gets the nod
Mitt Romney swept five north-eastern states to put the Republican nomination beyond doubt and immediately urged Americans to “hold on a little longer” for the “better America” he promises to deliver if elected President.
Obama, Romney in dead heat, poll shows
Republican challenger Mitt Romney has closed the gap with US President Barack Obama and the two are now neck and neck in the White House race, a poll released on Wednesday shows.
Romney has healthy respect for politics
Mitt Romney has a problem as a presidential candidate: his biggest flaw erases his signature political achievement: healthcare reform.
Now it’s populist v technocrat
Americans face a choice between a populist president promising to soak the rich to pay for a fair go for all, and a technocratic challenger pledging sounder economic management.
Now Romney can define race to suit him
Primary elections are useful for winnowing out a field of potential candidates. But once the field is winnowed out and the eventual winner tempered, continuing the battle can only damage the party – and the candidate.
Santorum ends bid for Republican nomination
Mitt Romney has an unshakeable hold on the Republican nomination for November’s presidential race against Barack Obama, after the surprise withdrawal of his only viable opponent, Rick Santorum.
Gingrich says Romney to win nomination
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said his rival Mitt Romney is “far and away” the most likely candidate to win the Republican nomination.
Obama takes aim at Romney
Mitt Romney tightened his grip on the Republican nomination with primary victories in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and, more significantly, had his first direct engagement with President Obama.
Romney wins primary hat trick
Republican Mitt Romney has pulled off a stunning hat-trick, winning the Wisconsin presidential primary on top of victories in Maryland and Washington, US media has projected.
Confident Romney focuses on Obama
To watch Mitt Romney campaign across Wisconsin the past few days has been to wonder whether the Republican primary is still going on.
A Romney win a loss for Fed? Think again
For all the derision US Republican presidential hopefuls have heaped on the Federal Reserve, a November win by lead contender Mitt Romney would likely change little at the US central bank, at least in the short term.
Obama has millions in mind
President Barack Obama, seeking to raise $US2 million in campaign funds in Vermont and Maine, has told supporters there may be more at stake in the US election this year than in his victorious run to the White House in 2008.
Romney camp spends big on attack ads
A new ad airing in the run-up to the April 3 Wisconsin primary replays footage of Rick Santorum saying he doesn’t “care what the unemployment rate’s going to be” and accuses him of voting against national right- to-work legislation.
Gingrich scales back presidential campaign
US Republican Newt Gingrich is dramatically curtailing his campaign schedule, laying off about a third of his staff and dismissing his campaign manager.
The party may be over Santorum
The question being posed by Republicans is not whether Rick Santorum intends to press forward with his candidacy, but whether he should.
Santorum win won’t complicate race
Rick Santorum easily won the Louisiana Republican primary Saturday night, capturing a deeply conservative state with a hefty portion of the kind of evangelical Christian voters who have helped him claim victories in 10 other states.
Romney’s win in Illinois a key moment
Mitt Romney scored a big win in the Republican presidential primary in the midwestern state of Illinois, tightening his grip on the nomination.
Marching on to a date with destiny
By the time the Republican presidential nomination is sealed, the date of the Illinois primary may well be seen as pivotal.
Romney forges further ahead of Santorum
Mitt Romney has won a decisive victory in the Republican primary in Illinois, stretching his lead in the all important delegate count and making it extremely difficult for Rick Santorum to bridge the gap.
Romney set for primary romp in Illinois
White House hopeful Mitt Romney looks set for a primary romp in President Barack Obama's home state which will bring the plodding Republican nominating race a step closer to the finish line.
Obama disowns De Niro First Lady joke
President Barack Obama's re-election campaign distanced itself from a joke by Robert de Niro about a white First Lady returning to the White House.
Romney unbeatable if he wins Illinois
Republican front-runner Mitt Romney is poised to scoop up the lion’s share of Illinois’ 69 delegates today and extend his lead over his main rival, Senator Rick Santorum.
Puerto Rico right behind Romney
Mitt Romney hailed his victory in the Puerto Rico primary as another step in a slow march to the Republican presidential nomination, a winning streak he is aggressively working to extend in Tuesday’s Illinois primary.
Republican race hangs on Illinois
A “brokered convention” would not harm the Republican Party’s chances of beating Barack Obama in November, the presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said, as the battle to find a candidate grew increasingly vicious.
Moderate heartland changes its tune
llinois has been known for choosing Republicans of a moderate brand. So for Mitt Romney, a primary here — with the symbolism of Obama’s backyard — would seem a welcome, natural fit.
Romney wins in Puerto Rico
Updated | Mitt Romney has won another primary race to pick a Republican nominee to take on President Barack Obama in November elections.
Republicans at war in land of Lincoln
As Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum intensified their push for votes in Illinois, President Barack Obama used a fundraising trip to his hometown of Chicago to poke fun at the contentious Republican race.
Gingrich ‘wishful thinking’
Hoping for one more rebirth, Newt Gingrich was bitterly disappointed, losing two primaries in the South, where he had staked his claim. He will find it increasingly difficult to argue that he is the candidate Republicans are seeking in 2012.
Santorum wins in the South
Rick Santorum captured twin victories in the Alabama and Mississippi primaries, overcoming the financial advantages of Mitt Romney and the Southern allegiances to Newt Gingrich.
Obama stumbles over fuel hurdle
The White House has stepped up efforts to present Barack Obama as a “pro-energy”’ president as his approval ratings slid in the face of higher petrol prices.
Republicans fight it out in the deep South
Republican presidential candidates slugged it out ahead of the Alabama and Mississippi primaries, as polls showed a tight race between Southern son Newt Gingrich and front-runner Mitt Romney.
Romney tells US south: I can beat Obama
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has argued ahead of Mississippi and Alabama primaries that he can beat President Barack Obama.
Republicans battle it out in the deep south
On the day before two crucial Southern primaries, the leading Republican presidential candidates sought to motivate supporters in what has become a fiercely contested three-way race.
No Newt in Rick’s picture
With two key primaries on the horizon, US presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have sharpened their attacks against Mitt Romney, while tensions between both men are also rising.
Gingrich faces D-Day in US deep south
Newt Gingrich faces a make-or-break test on Tuesday as he seeks to sweep the conservative southern states of Alabama and Mississippi and reboot his bid to become the 2012 Republican US presidential nominee.
Santorum just won’t go away
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has easily won the Kansas caucuses to consolidate his status as the main rival to front-runner Mitt Romney.
No easy road for Republican champion
If Super Tuesday was a struggle for Republican presidential front runner Mitt Romney, the rest of March looks like the trials of Odysseus.
Gingrich told to quit contesting vote
“It’s time for conservatives to say, ‘Look, we’re going to rally behind one candidate’,” senior Santorum strategist John Brabender, told reporters in Ohio.
Republicans beating war drums: Obama
US President Barack Obama contrasted the responsibilities he bears as commander in chief of the world’s most potent military force with the freedom enjoyed by Republican presidential candidates, as he sharply criticised “those beating the drums of war”.
Romney digs in for war of attrition
Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential front-runner who entered Super Tuesday looking for a knock-out punch, instead left pledging a war of attrition as he clawed his way ahead of arch-rival Rick Santorum in the prize state of Ohio.
If he survives battered candidate syndrome . . .
Lacking a knockout punch to put the Republican race beyond doubt, Mitt Romney is instead fighting hand-to-hand combat with Rick Santorum.
Super Tuesday simplifies nothing
Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential front-runner, pledged a war of attrition as he clawed his way ahead of arch-rival Rick Santorum in the bellwether state of Ohio.
Loose lips sink ships, Obama reminds Republicans
Barack Obama contrasted the heavy responsibilities he bears as commander in chief of the world’s most potent military force with the freedom enjoyed by Republican presidential candidates.
Santorum wins Tennessee primary
White House hopeful Rick Santorum has won the Republican presidential primary in Tennessee, while Mitt Romney has won three other states.
Momentum swings in Romney’s favour
Mitt Romney heads into today’s 10-state Republican presidential nomination contest hoping to build on recent victories and establish himself as the only viable candidate to take on US President Barack Obama in November.
Obama’s tightrope on Israel
As Republicans on the campaign trail ramped up their support for Israel in a possible military strike on Iran, President Obama used a speech before a pro-Israel lobbying group on Sunday to warn against the “loose talk of war” that could serve to speed Iran toward a nuclear weapon.
BP heads back into deepwater
Nearly two years after a devastating explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, deepwater drilling has regained momentum in the area and is spreading around the world.
US presidential election calendar 2012
Calendar of election events leading up to the presidential polls in November 2012.
The Republican field for 2012 polls
Profiles of the seven contenders vying to take on President Barack Obama in November.
How the US primary system works
The current US system for choosing presidential candidates dates from reforms by the Democratic party after the chaotic 1968 convention.
Video | US-China relations
High-level economic talks in Beijing between the US and China may be overshadowed by the drama surrounding Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng. More AFR TV
