2012 GOP Candidates

• Jon Huntsman, expected to announce June 21
  

  Mandel Ngan  /  AFP - Getty Images file
  

  Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman
  Huntsman, a former governor of Utah, will make his bid official on June 21 at at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.
  He had not been particularly secretive about his intentions, telling CNN on June 12, "We’re about a week-and-half out ... we’re right at the end point."
  Huntsman, who is Mormon, worked as a missionary in Taiwan and is fluent in Mandarin. But his moderate credentials — backing civil unions for gays and the cap-and-trade energy legislation — could hurt him in a GOP primary. So could serving under Obama.
  

 

Michele Bachmann, announced on June 13

Larry Downing  /  REUTERS

Rep. Michele Bachmann

Born and raised in Iowa, this Tea Party favorite and Minnesota congresswoman announced during a June 13 GOP debate that she's officially in the running for the Republican nomination.
Bachmann tells The Associated Press she decided to jump into the 2012 race at this time because she believed it was "the right thing to do."
She's been criticized for making some high-profile gaffes — among them, claiming taxpayers would be stuck with a $200 million per day tab for President Barack Obama's trip to India and identifying New Hampshire as the site of the Revolutionary War's opening shots.
Slideshow: The political life of Michele Bachmann But Bachmann's proved a viable fundraiser, collecting more than $2 million in political contributions in the first 90 days of 2011 — slightly exceeding the $1.8 million Mitt Romney brought in via his PAC in the first quarter.

 

• Rick Santorum, announced on June 6
  

  Charlie Neibergall  /  AP file
  

  Former Penn. Sen. Rick Santorum
  A staunch cultural conservative vehemently against abortion and gay marriage, the former Pennsylvania senator hopes to energize Republicans with a keen focus on social issues.
  He announced the launch of a presidential exploratory committee on FOX News, where he makes regular appearances. He make his run official on June 6 in Somerset, Pa., asking supporters to "Join the fight!"
  No stranger to controversy, Santorum was condemned by a wide range of groups in 2003 for equating homosexuality with incest, pedophilia and bestiality. More recently, Santorum faced criticism when he called Obama’s support for abortion rights “almost remarkable for a black man.”
  Slideshow: Rick Santorum's political life Since his defeat by Democrat Robert Casey in his 2006 re-election contest — by a whopping 18 percentage points — Santorum has worked as an attorney and as a think-tank contributor.
  A February straw poll at CPAC had him in twelfth place amongst Republicans with 2 percent of the vote.
  
  
  
  • Mitt Romney, announced on June 2
    

    Paul Sancya  /  AP file
    

    Former Massachusetts Gov. and presidential candidate Mitt Romney
    The former Massachusetts governor and 2008 presidential candidate has spent the last three years laying the foundations for another run at the White House — building a vigorous political action committee, making regular media appearances, and penning a policy-heavy book.
    In April, he announced, via YouTube and Twitter, that he'd formed an exploratory commitee. Romney made his run official in Stratham, N.H., on June 2.
    The former CEO of consulting firm Bain & Company and the president of the organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Romney frequently highlights his business background as one of his main qualifications to serve as president.
    Slideshow: Mitt Romney's life in politics
    To capture the nomination, Romney will have to defend the health care overhaul he enacted during his governorship — legislation that bears similarities to the Obama-backed bill despised by many conservatives. He'll also have to overcome the perception of being a flip-flopper (like supporting abortion rights in his 1994 and 2002 bids for office, but opposing them in his '08 run).
    In the first quarter of 2011, he netted some $1.8 million through his PAC "Free and Strong America."
    
    
    
    Tim Pawlenty, announced on May 23
    
    

    Chip Somodevilla  /  Getty Images
    

    Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
    Pawlenty, who served as the governor of Minnesota from 2003-2011, is the son of a truck driver who grew up in gritty south St. Paul. The first in his family to go to college, the plain-spoken hockey enthusiast enjoyed a slice of the national spotlight when he was considered for John McCain’s vice presidential shortlist in 2008.
    On March 21, he announced, via Facebook, that he would be forming an exploratory committee. He followed up by officially entering the race in late May, releasing an online video ahead of an Iowa rally. "I'm going to take a different approach. I am going to tell you the truth," he promised in his Internet announcement.
    The former governor, known for urging his party to reach out to “Sam’s Club” Republicans, still lacks wide name recognition and is sometimes described as low on personality, though a recent book tour has put him in front of audiences in the key states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
    Slideshow: The public life of Tim Pawlenty He also never won more than 47 percent of the vote in his two successful bids for statewide office in the blue state of Minnesota; by comparison, Obama got 54 percent in the state in 2008.
    
  
  

• Herman Cain, announced on May 21
  

  Brendan Smialowski  /  Getty Images file
  

  Talk show host Herman Cain
  Cain, an Atlanta radio host and former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, has support from some Tea Party factions.
  An African-American who describes himself as a “citizen’s candidate,” he was the first Republican to form a formal presidential exploratory committee. He officially entered the race in May, telling supporters, "When we wake up and they declare the presidential results, and Herman Cain is in the White House, we'll all be able to say, free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, this nation is free at last, again!"
  Prior to the release of President Obama's long-form birth certificate, Cain rehashed the birther theory, telling a Florida blogger, “I respect people that believe he should prove his citizenship ... He should prove he was born in the United States of America.”
  
  
  
  
  Ron Paul, announced on May 13
  
  

  Cliff Owen  /  AP file
  

  Rep. Ron Paul
  In 2008, Texas congressman Ron Paul’s libertarian rallying cry — and his opposition to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — did not fall on deaf ears. An idiosyncratic foe of the Federal Reserve and a passionate advocate for limited government, Paul mounted a presidential run that was characterized by bursts of jaw-dropping online fundraising.
  He officially launched his 2012 campaign in New Hampshire, saying, ""The revolution is spreading, and the momentum is building ... Our time has come."
  In the first quarter of 2011, raked in some $3 million through his various political organizations 
  
  Newt Gingrich, announced on May 11
  
  

  John M. Heller  /  Getty Images file
  

  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
  The former speaker of the House who led the 1994 “Republican Revolution,” Gingrich remains a robust presence on the GOP stage as a prolific writer and political thinker. In recent years, Barack Obama has provided a new target for the blistering critiques Gingrich famously leveled at President Bill Clinton.
  In early May, he made his 2012 run official. "I have been humbled by all the encouragement you have given me to run," Gingrich wrote on Facebook and Twitter.
  But a month later, the campaign was practically in ruins — with his campaign manager, spokesman, senior strategists all resigning en masse. Most cited issues with the "direction" of the campaign. But Gingrich vowed to press on.
  Slideshow: Newt Gingrich Also at issue: Gingrich’s personal life could make winning the support of social conservatives thorny for the twice-divorced former lawmaker. In a damning interview earlier this year, Esquire quoted one of Gingrich’s former wives describing him as a hypocrite who preached the sanctity of marriage while in the midst of conducting an illicit affair.
  Additional obstacles include his recent criticism of Rep. Paul Ryan’s fiscal plan as “right-wing social engineering" and reports of a $500,000 line of credit to Tiffany’s, the luxury jewelry company.
   
  
  
  • Gary Johnson, announced on April 21
    

    Jim Cole  /  AP
    

    Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson
    The former New Mexico governor took a big leap in late April, not by announcing an exploratory committee, but by actually announcing his official candidacy. “I’m running for president of the United States,” he told a couple of supporters and cameramen gathered for his announcement outside the New Hampshire State Capitol.
    He's a steadfast libertarian who supports the legalization of marijuana. He vetoed more than 700 pieces of legislation during his two terms as governor.
     
    
    
    • Sarah Palin, hasn't revealed plans
      

      Valerie Macon  /  AFP - Getty Images file
      

      Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
      The biggest question of the 2012 presidential cycle is whether or not Palin will decide to run. National and statewide polls have continually indicated that Palin’s base is passionate but probably too small to mount a viable challenge against the incumbent president.
      But the threat of the former vice presidential nominee’s enormous fundraising power and penchant for making media splashes could be enough to keep some rivals out of the race.
      Though she's remained absent from the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, Palin recently upped her foreign policy credentials with a trip to India and Israel. “I don't think that there needs to be a rush still to get out there as a declared candidate,” she said in New Delhi. “I think there's still plenty of time to find out who is going to put their name forward.”
      Slideshow: Sarah Palin: Republican star for 2012? Uping the "will she or won't she" chatter, Palin kicked off her "One Nation" bus tour during Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C. Planned stops include New Hampshire, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and several Civil War battlefields.
      
      
      
      Rick Perry, hasn't revealed plans
      
      

      Sean Gardner  /  REUTERS
      

      Texas Gov. Rick Perry
      Perry might make the leap increased this week when two of his former top advisers, Rob Johnson and Dave Carney, became available after they abandoned Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign.
      Perry has already sent some signals that he might be softening his earlier resistance to a 2012 run. "I'm going to think about it," he said two weeks ago.
      But if the Texas governor is going to run, he will need to move quickly. Perry's conservative message — against abortion, in favor of low taxes and less regulation — would likely play well among Iowa's voters. But he must get to the early caucus state to deliver it.