Crossroads GPS Kicks Off $25 Million Ad Buy Across 10 States

Crossroads GPS will launch a massive $25 million issue ad campaign on Thursday to run for the next four weeks, kicking off its largest buy this year in these 10 targeted states.

The conservative group spent $8 million on the initial buy to air the first spot, “Obama’s Promises,” through May 31, according to the group’s spokesman.

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Ron Paul to Stop Competing in Primaries, Focus on Convention Delegates

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Ron Paul announced today he will suspend active campaigning in the GOP presidential race, but will continue to campaign for delegates at state conventions. The news comes after his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), late last week dismissed the suggestion that his father is quietly planning a nominating convention coup.

“For all practical purposes, it is over. The numbers are there and Mitt Romney’s going to win the nomination,” Rand Paul said during an interview Thursday.  Full story

Marco Rubio Prepared for Role as Mitt Romney Surrogate

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sen. Marco Rubio might end up as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. But as demonstrated at this early stage of the general election campaign, the Florida Republican will be among the former Massachusetts governor’s most high-profile surrogates.

Rubio’s fulfillment of this role — potentially crucial for Romney given the Senator’s position as a leading Hispanic Republican and a conservative stalwart — was on display this past weekend during a lengthy interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

In fact, a prescient and strategic Rubio has been preparing to play this role at least since January, when Romney was battling former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) in Florida’s GOP presidential primary.

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Rick Santorum Endorses Mitt Romney

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

It happened while many on the East Coast slept — and you had look hard to find the key passage — but late Monday evening Rick Santorum formally endorsed Mitt Romney for president.

In an email to supporters that hit around 11 p.m., the former Pennsylvania Senator backed his one-time rival for the GOP presidential nomination, saying the race against President Barack Obama was too important for him to stand on the sidelines. Santorum’s backing, clear and unmistakable, was delivered about a month after he dropped out of the primary and essentially delivered the nomination to Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. Full story

Obama Kicks Off Campaign With a Roar

(Brendan Smialowski / AFP/ Getty Images)

President Barack Obama today cast himself once again as the candidate of hope and change as he kicked off his re-election campaign by trying to recapture the magic of his run four years ago.

“You tell them, it’s still about hope. It’s still about change. …We can make a difference in the life of this country,” Obama exclaimed toward the end of an impassioned, 40-minute speech in Columbus, Ohio. Full story

Virginia: Majority PAC Follows Crossroads GPS On the Air

The airwaves are heating up in what could be among the nation’s biggest 2012 battlegrounds.

A Democratic-aligned outside group announced today it is going on the air in the Senate race, targeting former Virginia Sen. George Allen. The ad comes one week after a GOP-aligned outside group took on Allen’s opponent, former Gov. Tim Kaine. Full story

Nebraska: Rick Santorum Backs Jon Bruning for Senate

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) threw his support behind state Attorney General Jon Bruning’s (R) primary bid for the open Nebraska Senate seat today.

The endorsement marks the former presidential candidate’s first foray into Congressional politics since dropping out of the national race in April, and it puts him at odds with some conservatives and tea party champions in Washington, D.C. — including Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — who have backed state Treasurer Don Stenberg. Full story

Newt Gingrich Ends Presidential Campaign

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, share a moment before announcing the suspension of his presidential campaign in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

The winner of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary has gone on to win his party’s nomination in every election since 1980 — until now.

Just less than a year after entering the race, former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) ended his presidential campaign today, a week after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney claimed the mantle of the GOP’s presumptive nominee. Full story

Romney Visiting RNC Wednesday

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

Mitt Romney is scheduled Wednesday to make his first visit to Republican National Committee headquarters since becoming the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, according to a party source.

The former Massachusetts governor is expected to drop by the RNC’s Capitol Hill offices around midday, in a visit described as being meant to rally the troops. He’ll be campaigning in Virginia on Wednesday and Thursday.

Such visits are typical of newly minted presidential nominees, who, in securing the GOP nod, become the leader of the national party — at least until Election Day.

The clear leader in nominating delegates to the Tampa convention, Romney secured his presumptive status after former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) and ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) dropped out of the primary. Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) is still running but is not viewed as a factor in the race.

Mitch Daniels: No One Should Rule Out VP Bid

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said no one should ever turn down an offer for the vice presidential nomination, which is why he hopes no one ever asks him to join the national ticket.

“The one thing I don’t think you should say is, if asked to serve the country, ‘No’. I don’t think anybody should say that,” Daniels said in a wide-ranging interview with Roll Call.  “But other than that, [I] don’t want to, don’t intend to, hope not to,  don’t expect to, and I think there are better choices.”

Days after Mitt Romney became the GOP’s presumptive nominee for president, several of the most-mentioned vice presidential contenders told media outlets that they’re not interested in the gig — statements widely interpreted by insiders as political deflection. Daniels came close to shutting the door himself last weekend, telling “Fox News Sunday” that, if asked to be Romney’s running mate, he’d urge the White House hopeful to reconsider.

But on Wednesday afternoon, during an interview with Roll Call in his expansive office at the state Capitol, Daniels explained his own ambitions in more detail.

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Jim DeMint: No ‘Silly’ Endorsement Forthcoming

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

As it became increasingly clear this month that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would win GOP presidential nomination, several elected Republicans and party bigwigs who had steered clear of the volatile 2012 primary officially backed his candidacy, leading journalists and other political observers to joke about the late endorsements on Twitter with hash tags such as #profilesincourage.

During a brief interview Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Jim DeMint indicated a desire to avoid the “profiles in courage” ridicule, telling Roll Call that he would stick by his vow not to endorse in a primary contest that is still technically under way. The South Carolina Republican and tea party favorite chuckled that it would be funny for him to officially back Romney only now that it is obvious he is going to be the nominee against President Barack Obama. Full story

Reports: Newt Gingrich Preparing to End Campaign

(Bill Clark/ CQ Roll Call)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) is preparing to end his now-longshot bid for the presidency, according to multiple reports.

Senior campaign aides told Fox News that Gingrich will formally exit the race for the Republican nomination on Tuesday. Gingrich indicated he was on his way out while speaking with reporters in Cramerton, N.C., this morning, just hours after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney swept five primaries and was anointed the “presumptive nominee” by the Republican National Committee. Full story

Mitt Romney Accepts GOP Nomination

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Mitt Romney effectively accepted the Republican nomination for president this evening, as he cruised to victory in five primaries and padded his delegate lead over the two other GOP candidates left in the race.

During a speech delivered in Manchester, N.H., where the former Massachusetts governor launched his 2012 campaign nearly one year ago, Romney focused his fire on President Barack Obama with contrasting rhetoric clearly intended to introduce himself to a general election audience and set the tone for the November contest.

The address appeared to serve as an unveiling for a number of themes likely to re-emerge throughout the campaign against Obama, and Romney attempted to turn the president’s “fairness” message against him, arguing that the commander in chief’s dismal record has led to a condition of “unfairness” for millions of Americans.

Among the more memorable lines from Romney’s speech: “A better America begins tonight” and “It’s still about the economy, and we’re not stupid.”

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John Boehner Fully Backs Mitt Romney

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Speaker John Boehner broke his silence on the GOP presidential nomination today and endorsed presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.

At a press conference, the Ohio Republican said, “I’ve not taken a position on his presidential campaign because, as chairman of the convention, I wanted to make sure that all candidates had a fair process and fair opportunity.”

But now with Romney’s ascent to the GOP nod all but certain, Boehner offered his full backing of the former Massachusetts governor.

“I think Mitt Romney has a set of economic policies that can put Americans back to work and frankly contrast sharply with the failed economic policies of President [Barack] Obama,” Boehner said. “And I will be proud to support Mitt Romney and do everything I can to help him.”

Boehner had declined to back anyone in the GOP field, reiterating to reporters that he remains focused on his work in the House and promising that he would back whomever primary voters selected to run against Obama. Other GOP House leaders, notably Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), as well as Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.), endorsed Romney earlier in the cycle.

Obama Raises More Than $53 Million in March; Republicans Pounce

The Obama campaign announced today in a Web video that its collective March fundraising total was “over $53 million.”

The video featured various campaign supporters announcing their small donations to the campaign, followed by a message from campaign manager Jim Messina. The figures include fundraising from the Democratic National Committee.