Rick Santorum is poised to establish himself as the top conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, a day after jolting the Republican US presidential race by coming within eight votes of winning the Iowa caucuses.

A SQUEAKER of an Iowa victory in hand, Mitt Romney headed last night into the New Hampshire primary — in his own political backyard — insisting that staying power sets him apart from runners-up Rick Santorum and Ron Paul and the rest of the Republican presidential field.

Front-running Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was today looking towards the next battle in New Hampshire after managing only the slimmest of victories in Iowa.

Michele Bachmann has quit the Republican presidential campaign, saying she “decided to stand aside” in the wake of her sixth place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann has ended her bid for the White House after coming last in the Iowa caucuses.

Mitt Romney was locked in a dead heat with Rick Santorum today in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses, the opening contest in the campaign to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama.

JUDGMENT day dawned for Republican contenders vying to take on Barack Obama in November’s presidential election, with a pivotal vote in Iowa set to dramatically reduce the field of contenders.

Iowa Republicans prepared to cast the first votes of the 2012 presidential contest tonight, marking their choice for a candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in November.

Thousands of Iowa Republicans cast the first ballots of the 2012 presidential contest today, with front-runner Mitt Romney locked in a tight race with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul.

THE volatile Republican presidential race in Iowa will come down to which way an enormous chunk of undecided voters breaks in the coming days.

Mitt Romney is the clear Republican front-runner in Iowa in the final days before the first voting in the 2012 presidential election, but polls also suggest large numbers of Republicans could change their minds before Tuesday’s caucuses.

Republican presidential candidates battled to win over undecided conservatives as Iowa’s first vote of the nominating process to challenge President Barack Obama looms next week.

Republican Mitt Romney is sensing an opening to win next Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses, and he is campaigning with increasing confidence – and a new crush of advertising – to bolster his closing argument: that he is the most electable candidate to challenge US President Barack Obama in November.

Republican presidential candidates have one week to convince voters in Iowa that they are the one to defeat President Barack Obama next year.

WITH the implosion of Herman Cain’s campaign amid accusations of adultery and sexual harassment, the once-crowded 2012 Republican presidential field appears to be narrowing to a two-man race between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

NEW HAMPSHIRE’S largest newspaper yesterday endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 2012 GOP presidential race, signalling that rival Mitt Romney isn’t the universal favourite and potentially resetting the contest before the state’s lead-off primary January 10.

US president Barack Obama has said sanctions on Iran are having “enormous bite,” but he still wants to work with Russia and China to find more ways of putting pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

REPUBLICAN presidential hopefuls Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann have both said they would reinstate waterboarding during interrogations of suspected terrorists, while rivals Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman both say they see the procedure as torture.

Republican presidential hopefuls Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann have both said they would reinstate waterboarding during interrogations of suspected terrorists, while rivals Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman both say they see the procedure as torture.

RICK PERRY says he “stepped in it” during Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate, but insisted his embarrassing gaffe won’t force him out of the presidential race.

US businessman Herman Cain denied he sexually harassed former employees and battling accusations of financial misconduct in his campaign as he navigates his way at the front of the pack in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Republican presidential contenders turned the heat on the two frontrunners in a debate, attacking businessman Herman Cain’s economic plan as a tax increase and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney over his health care law.

EXPECT few job announcements from US companies in Ireland until after November 6, 2012.

THE announcement by Sarah Palin that she will not seek the Republican nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in America’s presidential election next year, will provoke relief and disappointment in equal measure.

QUICK to tangle, Republican presidential rivals Rick Perry and Mitt Romney sparred vigorously over job creation and social security in a feisty campaign debate that marked a contentious new turn in the race to pick a 2012 challenger to President Barack Obama.

Republican presidential rivals Rick Perry and Mitt Romney tangled over their records on creating jobs in a campaign debate that marked a contentious new turn in the race to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama next year.

The campaign chief and deputy campaign manager for Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann are leaving in a campaign shake-up.

With three big hitters in the field, the emergence of a Republican wildcard for the presidential race seems unlikely, writes Patricia Zengerle

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann got her Elvis Presley dates all shook up during a campaign stop in South Carolina.

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has set off on a bus tour that aims to produce give-and-take with Americans in the US heartland after a summer-long political fight in Washington over the nation’s debt crisis.

PRESIDENT Barack Obama hits the road today for a Midwestern bus tour that he hopes will leave doubts over his leadership behind in Washington.

The 2012 Republican presidential race heated up as latecomer Texas Governor Rick Perry formally announced his candidacy and Iowans weighed in for the first time on their expanding field of presidential hopefuls, picking US Representative Michele Bachmann as their top choice for the party’s nomination.

Minnesota rivals Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann have sparred bitterly in a Republican presidential debate, trying to stand out ahead of an Iowa test vote with huge consequences.

WE’VE all seen the late-night TV ads in which the sultry voice whispers: “Hot girls in your area waiting by the phone now, call: 1590....”

REPUBLICAN Sarah Palin has said she is still considering a potential 2012 presidential run, though her daughter said she has already made up her mind and is keeping the decision secret for now.

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin said she is still thinking about whether to run for president, dismissing a comment from her daughter that she had already made up her mind.

US congresswoman Michele Bachmann kicked off her presidential campaign in Iowa, where a strong finish in the state’s early nominating caucus could position the anti-tax tea party candidate as a serious challenger to more mainstream Republicans hoping to take on President Barack Obama in 2012.

Another Republican has formally entered the race for the US presidential nomination, just months after stepping down as President Barack Obama’s ambassador to China.

REPUBLICAN presidential candidates used their first big televised debate to lash out at President Barack Obama — but not each other.

With Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann’s quick rise from state lawmaker to unofficial Tea Party ambassador in Washington, her brazen style has kept Republican leaders on edge and appealed to those searching for a fresh, unfettered voice. She relishes the spotlight and seldom cedes ground.

Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann has formally entered the US presidential race.

DESPITE a spate of discouraging economic reports, US President Barack Obama insisted yesterday he is not afraid of the country slipping into a double-dip recession. But at the same time he displayed impatience, saying the pace of the recovery has “got to accelerate”.

THE list of Republicans hoping to unseat president Barack Obama next year grew longer yesterday when former senator Rick Santorum announced his intention to elbow his way into an increasingly crowded field of Pennsylvania Avenue aspirants.

Former US senator Rick Santorum has confirmed he is running for president, joining a crowded field of Republicans looking to challenge Barack Obama in next year’s election.