Nevada is, in part, such friendly territory for Romney because of its place in the Mormon Corridor, a group of states fanning out from Utah which, besides Nevada, include Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho and southern California with significant populations of Romney's fellow Mormons.
While hotels along the Vegas Strip are full of Super Bowl fans and convention attendees this weekend, another event will be playing out Saturday at more than 100 locations across the state. Nevada's Republican presidential caucuses will be taking place, and mostly in low-key places.
The breast cancer organization has suffered one of the worst public relations disasters in recent memory. Komen relies heavily on positive associations with its cause, but restoring its luster will be quite a task.
Republican candidates are campaigning across the state ahead of Saturday's caucuses. The state looks much different than it did four years ago — today it leads the country in home foreclosures, personal bankruptcies and unemployment.
Audie Cornish talks to our regular political commentators — E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of the New York Times — about the new unemployment figures and the presidential primary race.
Romney's explanation would make more sense, however, if, after his earlier comments caused a firestorm, Romney hadn't told the traveling press corps on his charter jet nearly the exact same thing he said to CNN's Soledad O'Brien.
As encouraging as the jobs report was for January 2012, it still is only the start of this general-election year. That means the jobless rate now will likely have less to do with what happens in the congressional and presidential races than where it stands in October.
Newt's momentum is halted in Florida, and now Mitt has what looks to be a good month ahead of him, starting with Nevada on Saturday. Plus: women's health turns (more) political, Gov. Bev Perdue becomes the latest North Carolina Democrat to bow out, and we say goodbye to Boston's Kevin White.
In the race for the Republican presidential nomination, a number of contests are awarding delegates on a proportional basis. That fact, combined with a back-loaded calendar, may stretch out the nominating process until the party's convention in August.
Senators on Capitol Hill have criticized Edward DeMarco for the investment practices of Freddie Mac. DeMarco heads the federal agency that controls Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. NPR and ProPublica reported that certain trades at Freddie Mac amounted to bets against homeowners being able to refinance their mortgages. DeMarco tells Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep that the trades were not particularly risky, and would not have prevented homeowners from refinancing their loans.
Real estate mogul and Apprentice star Donald Trump endorsed Mitt Romney for president in Las Vegas Thursday. Analysts suggest Trump's endorsement could hurt Romney since he is trying to fend off accusations that he doesn't care about the poor.
Republican strategists say it's not clear yet whether the primary battle will help or hurt Mitt Romney if he becomes the nominee. He emerged from his win in Florida with both his strengths and his weaknesses on display. Plus, some Republicans worry that the race's negative tone will turn off voters.
The bill would explicitly prohibit members of Congress, top aides and senior administration officials from using nonpublic information to trade. Passed 96-3, the act now goes to the House.
Axelrod said the economy has improved significantly since the 2009 interview in which Obama said his presidency would be a "one-term proposition" if there no were turnaround. Axelrod quickly added, however, that there's much more to do to fix the economy.
The congressman from North Carolina says he intends to spend more time with his wife and two young children. Republicans in the North Carolina Legislature redrew the state congressional lines, making Shuler's district more friendly to the GOP.
