DES MOINES – Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said his goal is to “exceed expectations” when Iowa Republicans meet next Tuesday to choose the candidates they want to be the party’s presidential nominee in 2012. “My feeling is we have to exceed expectations and the expectations ...

  ELKADER – Barnstorming across northeast Iowa, Rick Perry scored points with his campaign for a return to traditional values, smaller government and secure borders. However, after his “Faith, Jobs and Values” campaign bus rolled on down the road many of the likely Republican caucusgoers who came ...

  UPDATED with comments from Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman The 2012 Iowa precinct caucuses won’t have quite the same feel for Democrats as they did four years ago. However, President Obama’s re-election campaign will try to create some of that magic by calling his Iowa supporters caucus night, ...

  You want coffee with that: To join The Gazette Editorial Board for a visit with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at 8 a.m. today, click here. Wanna bet: Mitt Romney’s $10,000 challenge to Rick Perry during the Saturday night GOP candidates’ debate is the gift that ...

MOUNT VERNON — It’s doubtful he made many converts, but for nearly 90 minutes Rick Santorum defended the “essential truths we stand by,” those truths that form the bedrock of his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Santorum brought his “Faith, Family & Freedom Tour” to ...

  Get ready for Round 2. After what was arguably the best debate of the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination Saturday night, the candidates will tee it up again in Iowa Dec. 15. Although it may be remembered for Mitt Romney’s “bet,” with Rick Perry, Michele ...

  UPDATED WITH COMMENTS FROM DEMOCRATIC CHAIRWOMAN SUE DVORSY: CEDAR RAPIDS – Making his first campaign appearance in Linn County in more than six months, Mitt Romney said he is the candidate with “the best ideas for the nation” and is the Republican best able to defeat ...

  CEDAR RAPIDS — As the “one, true conservative” in the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said she’s best positioned to challenge President Obama. “I am the best candidate to take on Barack Obama because I will defeat him,” Bachmann said ...

Newt Gingrich won the highest grade from the Iowa Corn Growers Association in its ranking of Republican presidential candidates on agriculture issues. Herman Cain and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, were at the bottom of the list. The association, in releasing its rankings Wednesday, said it is not ...

  CEDAR RAPIDS -- Everything she needs to know, she learned in Iowa, Michele Bachmann told supporters at a book signing in Cedar Rapids Nov. 26. Personal responsibility, “your word is your bond” and giving an honest day’s work, Bachmann said at Barnes & Noble, are her ...