Republican Party

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Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a GOP hopeful, speaks to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Charleston, S.C., on Thursday. "I was the author of the only bill that actually repealed a federal entitlement - welfare reform." (Associated Press)

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Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a GOP hopeful, speaks to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Charleston, S.C., on Thursday. "I was the author of the only bill that actually repealed a federal entitlement - welfare reform," Mr. Santorum said earlier this month. (Associated Press)

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, arrive for a news conference in North Charleston, S.C., on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at which he announced the suspension of his GOP presidential campaign and his endorsement of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (left), accompanied by his wife, Callista, greets supporters during a GOP presidential campaign stop at the Christ Central Community Center in Winnsboro, S.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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From left, GOP presidential hopefuls Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich take the stage for a debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Myrtle Beach, S.C., Monday night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry (left) stands under a black bear killed by the son of Glenn Brock (right), owner of Brock's department store, during a stop on Mr. Perry's GOP presidential campaign on Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in Pickens, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Richard Boggs of Fort Mill, S.C., (left) listens as Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a GOP presidential hopeful, speaks (at right) during a campaign stop to Kinch's restaurant in Rock Hill, S.C., on Tuesday. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Six candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination — (from left) former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry — are introduced before a GOP presidential candidate debate at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, N.H., on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum speaks to reporters Sunday in Concord, N.H., after the second of two weekend debates with his GOP rivals. The Pennsylvanian, who campaigns as a fiscal hawk, favored public financing of two new sports stadiums in Pittsburgh in 1997. (Associated Press)

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Six Republican presidential candidates — (from left) former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry — listen to a question from David Gregory, moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," during a GOP presidential candidate debate at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, N.H., on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich campaigns at the Plymouth Senior Center on Thursday in Plymouth, N.H. With the New Hampshire GOP primary just days away on Jan. 10, the former House speaker is contrasting the front-runner's record with his own. (Associated Press)

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Mike Ahern (left) of Plymouth, N.H., asks GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum about the lack of jobs not related to stores that pay minimum wage that make it hard for people to succeed financially during a lunchtime visit to the Tilt'n Diner. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (left), accompanied by Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, campaigns for the GOP presidential nomination at the Boys and Girls Club in Salem, N.H., on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets a boy in the crowd in Manchester, N.H., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, as he leaves a town-hall-style campaign stop in his bid for the GOP presidential nomination. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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With less than a week before the nation's first presidential primary, Sen. John McCain (left) endorses former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (right) for the GOP presidential nomination during a town-hall meeting in Manchester, N.H., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Marcus Bachmann stands next to his wife, Rep. Michele Bachmann, as she announces the end of her GOP presidential campaign in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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DECISION TIME: GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum greets Iowans after a speech at a campaign stop at the Rising Sun Cafe in Polk City, Iowa, on Monday. “Do not defer your judgment to the pundits,” the former senator said. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)