Republican Party

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Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain came in fourth in a new poll of GOP primary voters in South Carolina at 10 percent. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry has phoned influential Republicans in early-voting New Hampshire and Iowa in recent days as he weighs whether to enter the race for the GOP presidential nomination. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks to reporters Thursday at the Allentown Metal Works, Inc., manufacturing plant in Allentown, Pa. He blamed its closure on the “Obama economy.” But some politicians and business leaders disputed the direct correlation.

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Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, waves to the crowd as she officially announces her intent to seek the GOP presidential nomination on Monday, June 27, 2011, in Waterloo, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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ON MESSAGE: Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, is "a long shot" to be the GOP nominee but "is certainly articulating a clear and powerful set of views," fundraiser Fred Malek said. (CBS News via Associated Press)

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Illustration: GOP fight by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times

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Rep. Ron Paul, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, speaks at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans on Friday, June 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

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Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, assails President Obama on jobs creation, following a GOP political strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 14, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Jon Huntsman Jr. sits on a Harley-Davidson at a dealership during a May visit to Manchester, N.H. The GOP presidential candidate is back in New Hampshire, traversing the campaign trail on a Harley Road King. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. tests the waters for a 2012 GOP presidential bid Saturday with some retail politicking in Gorham, N.H.

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RUNNING: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announces his candidacy for president on Thursday at Bittersweet Farm in Stratham, N.H. Analysts say his Mormon faith remains a stumbling block, as it was in his 2008 campaign, especially among evangelical Christians influential in the GOP. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS For former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, neighboring New Hampshire could make or break his GOP presidential campaign, which kicks off Thursday.

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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (second from right), the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, gives a thumbs up from the back seat of a motorcycle at the beginning of Rolling Thunder at the Pentagon in suburban Washington on Sunday, May 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Illustration: GOP gas by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to GOP activists in Waterloo, Iowa, on Thursday as part of a three-day visit to the state.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to GOP activists in Waterloo, Iowa, on Thursday as part of a three-day visit to the state.

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Illustration: GOP

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told Republican officials they must depend on themselves to raise enough money to carry their states for the GOP in 2012. "The days of you and your state being able to rely on the Republican National Committee for money to get out the vote are over," Mr. Barbour said.

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House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, is among GOP leaders insisting on binding changes in the short term to discretionary spending and in the long term to entitlement spending. The federal government hit its debt limit on May 16. (AP Photo)