Iowa Caucus
January 3rd: Mitt Romney is declared the uncertified winner of the Iowa caucuses, reportedly edging out Rick Santorum by 8 votes. The results were among the closest in history.
January 4th: After finishing a distant (and disappointing) 6th in Iowa, Michele Bachmann suspends her presidential campaign.
January 7th: The remaining candidates debate in New Hampshire. Romney manages to avoid conflict and remains above the fray. The night’s biggest loser was moderator George Stephanopoulos who spent several minutes grilling the candidates on whether or not they would support a state’s right to ban the sale of birth control, something that has not been suggested by any of the candidates.
January 8th: Another debate, more of the same. None of the candidates seemed willing to attack Romney, instead going after each other.
January 16th: With a disappointing third place finish in New Hampshire, Jon Huntsman ends his campaign and endorses Mitt Romney. That night, the candidates faced off in another debate.
January 19th: After abysmal debate performances, Rick Perry drops out of the race and endorses Gingrich. Pundits said his campaign was one of the worst-run they’d ever seen.
January 19th: Yet another debate in South Carolina. This time, some punches are pulled against Romney. Pundits called it Romney’s worst debate yet. Both Santorum and Gingrich attacked Romney on his record.
January 21st: In a surprising turnaround, Newt Gingrich upsets Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primaries, with 40% of the vote to Romney’s 28 percent. Romney remains the leader in the overall race, with 33 delegates to Gingrich’s 26.
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Coming Up
January 26: CNN debate
January 31: Florida primary
February 4: Nevada caucus
February 7: Colorado caucus, Minnestoa caucus, Missouri primary
