The triple-header victory by Rick Santorum on Tuesday was a huge rush for the candidate, but also raises much larger questions about the 2012 GOP field.

You’d think that Republican voters would be concerned about Gingrich’s connections to the sinful Las Vegas gambling industry. Or Mitt Romney's endorsement from the guy who's catch phrase is "You're Fired!" But they sure don't seem to be.

While we get excited about the caucuses and primaries, harvesting delegates is actually a backbreaking and difficult job.

Despite his vitriolic attacks against fellow frontrunner Mitt Romney, Tuesday night's primary was a disappointment for Newt Gingrich. In addition to losing Florida's 50 delegates, his second-place status is the widest margin of victory the GOP contest thus far. But Gingrich has vowed to stay the course. With the majority of the race ahead of them, it's still possible for him to grab the nomination — but without the support of the front-loaded states, it's not likely.

All four candidates had a good night. They each got in memorable lines or quips. Gingrich did not blow away the debate as he did in South Carolina. Romney exceeded expectations and seemed more confident again (as he was when he was the sure winner in about October or November ...

South Carolina is the beating heart of the real South, and there is a long sociology of many South Carolinians disliking slick, rich Yankees. Newt played to that as a neighbor from Georgia.

Friday South Carolina will hold the "First in the South" primary. Since 1980 the victor of the South Carolina primary has gone on to win the presidential nomination. But the Palmetto State is sharing the limelight this morning with the Hawkeye State as the miscount in Iowa has skewed the results of the first GOP caucus. Rick Santorum is now declared the winner of the Iowa Caucus by a small margin of 34 votes. But in the end does it really matter?

The probability that Rick Santorum won and not Mitt Romney made no real difference because Romney was the untouchable front runner in New Hampshire already. Santorum would not have won New Hampshire even if he had been declared the winner in Iowa.

A tracking poll shows Romney sliding. Is this the Iowa roller coaster all over again?

New Hampshire poses a much bigger threat to the Republican Party's struggle to designate a Presidential nominee than we thought.

In Iowa if you “can’t make it here you probably can’t make it anywhere” is the general principle. Think it’s going to be easier running a campaign in 11 Super Tuesday states?

In one of the closet presidential contests in history, Mitt Romney was declared winner of Tuesday night's Iowa caucuses by a mere eight votes. Romney took 24.6 percent of the vote, barely edging out rival Rick Santorum, who was carried to the top of the polls with the support of evangelical Christians. Young caucus-goers helped deliver libertarian Congressman Ron Paul a close third place finish, with 21.4 percent of the vote. The night was perhaps most disappointing for one-time front-runners Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. Bachmann finished last, with only five percent of the vote. Perry announced he would suspend his campaign after placing just ahead of Bachmann.

After months of campaigning, 13 debates, and an unprecedented $12.5 million spent, Iowa voters will gather at caucus sites across the state Tuesday night in the first contest of the GOP presidential nomination race. Scores of voters remain undecided, as many as 41 percent in recent polls. Presumptive front-runner Mitt Romney told an audience Monday, "We're going to win this thing." But Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are also mopping up in polls.

The caucuses start at 7 pm across the state in school classrooms and public libraries - almost 1800 different locations throughout the state will see neighborsshow up to do their political duty. At this year's Iowa GOP caucus, four important matters of business will be completed.

Where else could Barack Obama have gotten his start except by winning the Iowa Caucuses and where else could Pat Robertson been given a chance to even try for the toughest job in the nation? Nowhere, I say!

The Iowa Republican Party is increasing security of the electronic systems it will use next week to count the votes from presidential caucusegoers. Law enforcement and cyber security geeks are also on high alert following a threat from a group of hackers delivered via video. 

"The video claims to be ...

Less than a week from Iowa caucuses, we've got a barnburner of a race shaping up. Mitt Romney, long trailing behind Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, appears to have vaulted into second place and climbing, while Newt has dropped from 27 percent in early December into third place with just under 15 percent of respondents.

Politics is a professional sport here, and nothing is more important than the presidential caucuses. We have saved the rest of you Americans the horrible job of winnowing the field of GOP Presidential candidates.

Andrew Smith, professor of politcal science at the University of New Hampshire and director of its Survey Center, and Steffen Schmidt, professor at Iowa State University, discuss how Iowa is gearing up for the GOP caucus. 

Ron Paul has drawn huge and passionate crowds, which the media could not report because Paul was not one of the “viable” front-runners who could get the nomination.