Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

First in The Nation Primary Underway - following the caucus in Iowa by one week, New Hampshire voters will participate in an open primary where voters can cast a ballot for candidates in any political party.



The question is now by how much will Mitt Romney win, and who will come in second. His comment at a morning event "I enjoy firing people" will haunt Romney, but not likely to be seen in this election as it came just before the voters go to the polls.

Anything, less than second place and you can say good-bye to the Huntsman campaign. Then, it becomes bragging rights for who claims the conservative mantel between Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Texas Governor Rick Perry may surprise with a better showing than expected, but very doubtful. Ron Paul will also be battling for the second place prize, but with no chance of securing the Republican Party nomination, he remains an annoyance.

The next primary in S. Carolina will be significant as the battle for conservative support will be intense and with 11 days to campaign, the candidates will be doing their best to damage each other.

First Results in from New Hampshire from Dixville Notch where nine votes were cast just after midnight. Romney and Huntsman each received 2 votes, Paul and Gingrich each had 1 vote and President Obama won with 3 votes. The voter party registration was 4 Undeclared, 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats.

Stay tuned...


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Romney Leading in Gallup Polls - showing a majority (59%) of conservatives and moderate liberals favor Mitt Romney. Gallup.com has more here.

This follows two days after a Gallup poll showing 6 of 10 believe Romney will win the Republican nomination.

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Daley Out as Chief of Staff - in an expected move, William Daley has resigned and Jack Lew has been named to replace him. Replacing Rahm Emanuel has proven to be difficult for the president and Obama has to hope Jack Lew, who was the OMB Director, will be the answer during an upcoming difficult election year.

Replacing Lew will be difficult as Senate Republicans are angry over the Cordray recess appointment. The Washington Post has more here.

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Supreme Court Hears Texas Redistricting - lost, in the clamor surrounding the republican presidential primary race is how the redistricting in Texas is playing out. Texas received 4 new seats in the House based on the Census and where they will fit in the state and which political party will benefit is at issue. Politico.com has more here.

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