Tagged: Election 2012

In a final day of campaigning before Super Tuesday, Republicans Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum focused on the economy in Ohio, the most sought after prize in the 10 states voting or caucusing.

A week ago, Santorum had a substantial lead in Ohio polls; now he's in a statistical dead heat with Romney.

With 10 states holding Republican primaries or caucuses on March 6 — Super Tuesday — a lot of money is being spent on TV ads. The superPACs supporting the remaining GOP candidates have doled out some $12 million for ads in those states.

Leading the way is Restore Our Future, the superPAC that backs former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. According to Federal Election Commission numbers, Restore Our Future has spent $6.9 million on the Super Tuesday states.

For the first time, Idaho Republicans are holding presidential preference caucuses on Tuesday. Jonathan Parker, the state party's executive director, is excited about the chance to hold party-building exercises on such a broad scale.

"For the first time, maybe ever, Idaho is relevant in the nominating process," he says.

But as much as he relishes the attention — Mitt Romney held a rally in Idaho Falls last Thursday — Parker worries that the state GOP could generate the wrong kind of publicity.