Potential GOP Contenders for the 2012 Presidential Election

Many say it's a bit too soon to be scoping out potential candidates for the 2012 election, but I personally believe that it's never too early, especially for a critical election such as this upcoming one.

So here they are, in order of most to least popular amongst Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents (according to the most recent Gallup poll):

Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas

"Pray a little more, work a little harder, save, wait, be patient, and most of all, live within our means. That's the American way. It's not spending ourselves into prosperity or taxing ourselves into prosperity."

Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House

Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts

"America cannot continue to lead the family of nations around the world if we suffer the collapse of the family here at home."

Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska

Mike Pence, Rep. for Indiana's 6th congressional district

"I'm a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order."

Jon Huntsman, Jr., Ambassador to China

Ron Paul, Rep. for Texas's 14th congressional district

"The best formula for giving us peace and preserving the American way of life is freedom, limited government, and minding our own business overseas."

Rick Santorum, former Senator from Penn.

John Thune, Senator from South Dakota

"We must work together to save and strengthen Social Security not just for my father's generation but also for my daughters' generation."

Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi

Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota

"Our country has been asleep at the switch on these things. The basic economics are that the supply of fossil fuels is limited and the demand is outstripping the supply. It's a recipe for continued crisis if we don't start changing our ways."

Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana

Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico

"The issue of marijuana legalization is obviously an attention-getter and you can't shy away from it. I have to defend it. I have to defend the position." (Johnson supports the legalization of the drug.)










In alphabetical order, other prospective candidates not included in the poll are:

Joe Arpaio, Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona
Michele Bachmann, Rep. for Minnesota's 6th congressional district
John Bolton, former Ambassador to the U.N. from Maryland
Scott Brown, Senator from Massachusetts
John Cornyn, Senator from Texas
Jim DeMint, Senator from South Carolina
Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City
Judd Gregg, former Senator from New Hampshire
George Pataki, former Governor of New York
Buddy Roemer, former Governor of Louisiana
Marco Rubio, Senator from Florida
Paul Ryan, Rep. for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district
Donald Trump, Businessman from New York