Republican Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2012

This article contains lists of candidates associated with the 2012

Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2012

The 2012 Republican presidential primaries are the selection processes in which voters of the Republican Party will choose their nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. The primary contest began with a fairly wide field, and is the first presidential primary...

Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

presidential primaries

United States presidential primary

The series of presidential primary elections and caucuses is one of the first steps in the process of electing the President of the United States of America. The primary elections are run by state and local governments, while caucuses are private events run by the political parties...

for the 2012 United States presidential election

United States presidential election, 2012

The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...

Candidates

The following notable individuals filed with the Federal Election Commission

Federal Election Commission

The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...

(FEC) and/or announced their intentions to seek the 2012 presidential nomination

Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2012

of the Republican Party.

Current candidates

Current candidates for the Republican nomination
Michele Bachmann	Michele Bachmann Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a... , U.S. Representative from Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state... , declared her candidacy on June 27, 2011.
Herman Cain	Herman Cain Herman Cain Herman Cain is a candidate for the 2012 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination.Cain has a background as a business executive, syndicated columnist, and radio host from Georgia. He served as chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza from 1986 to 1996... , Businessman of Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... , declared his candidacy on May 21, 2011.
Newt Gingrich	Newt Gingrich Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999.... , Former U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives from Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... , declared his candidacy on May 11, 2011.
Stewart Greenleaf	Stewart Greenleaf Stewart Greenleaf Stewart J. Greenleaf is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 12th District since 1979. His district includes portions of Montgomery and Bucks Counties.-Biography:... , Pennsylvania State Senator Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such... , signed up for the New Hampshire primary ballot on October 28, 2011.
Jon Huntsman, Jr.	Jon Huntsman, Jr. Jon Huntsman, Jr. Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for... , Former Governor of Utah and US Ambassador to China, declared his candidacy on June 21, 2011.
Gary Johnson	Gary Johnson Gary Johnson Gary Johnson may refer to:Gary Johnson , former Governor of New Mexico and candidate for President in 2012Gary Johnson , American politician, Wisconsin State Assembly... , Former Governor of New Mexico, declared his candidacy on April 21, 2011.
Fred Karger	Fred Karger Fred Karger Fred S. Karger is an American political consultant, gay rights activist and watchdog, former actor, and candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2012 US Presidential election... , Political consultant and gay rights activist of California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , declared his candidacy on March 23, 2011.
Andy Martin	Andy Martin Andy Martin Andy Martin is a musician, lyricist and writer who lives in London, England.-The 1980s:During the 1980s, he was the singer, lyricist and occasionally drummer for The Apostles, a group that was founded in 1979 by four North London schoolboys, William 'Bill' Corbett, Julian Portinari, Dan Macintyre... , Perennial candidate and birther activist of Illinois Illinois Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... , declared his candidacy on December 29, 2010.
Jimmy McMillan	Jimmy McMillan Jimmy McMillan James "Jimmy" McMillan III is an American political activist, perennial candidate, Vietnam War veteran, and karate expert, as well as a former postal worker and private investigator from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known as the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, a New York-based... , Perennial candidate of New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... declared his candidacy on December 23, 2010.
Ron Paul	Ron Paul Ron Paul Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes... , U.S. Representative from Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... declared his candidacy on May 13, 2011.
Rick Perry	Rick Perry Rick Perry James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full... , Governor of Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... , declared his candidacy on August 13, 2011.
Buddy Roemer	Buddy Roemer Buddy Roemer Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991... , Former governor of Louisiana Louisiana Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties... , declared his candidacy on June 21, 2011.
Mitt Romney	Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W... , Former governor of Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... , declared his candidacy on June 2, 2011.
Rick Santorum	Rick Santorum Rick Santorum Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social... , Former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... declared his candidacy on June 6, 2011.

Withdrew before the primaries

Candidates that withdrew before the Republican primaries
Jack Fellure	Jack Fellure Jack Fellure Lowell Jackson "Jack" Fellure is an American perennial political candidate and retired engineer. He is the presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party for the 2012 presidential election.-Campaigns:... , Perennial candidate of West Virginia West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east... , filed a presidential committee with the FEC on November 5, 2008. He ended his campaign for the Republican nomination on June 22, 2011 after receiving the presidential nomination of the Prohibition Party Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement... .
Thaddeus McCotter	Thaddeus McCotter, U.S. Representative from Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake".... , declared his candidacy on July 2, 2011. He dropped out of the race on September 22, 2011 and endorsed Mitt Romney.
	Roy Moore Roy Moore Roy Stewart Moore is an American jurist and Republican politician noted for his refusal, as the elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the state courthouse despite orders to do so from a federal judge... , former Chief Justice Chief Justice The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of... of the Alabama Supreme Court Alabama Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of an elected Chief Justice and eight elected Associate Justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six year terms. The Governor of Alabama may fill vacancies when they occur... , announced the formation of an exploratory committee on 18 May 2011. He did not proceed to launch a formal campaign, and dropped out before October 2011.
Tim Pawlenty	Tim Pawlenty Tim Pawlenty Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011... , Former Governor of Minnesota, declared his candidacy on May 23, 2011. He dropped out of the race on August 14, 2011 after a third-place finish at the Ames Straw Poll Ames Straw Poll The Ames Straw Poll is a presidential straw poll taken by Iowa Republicans. It occurs in Ames, Iowa on the campus of Iowa State University, on a Saturday in August of years in an election cycle in which the Republican presidential nomination seems to be undecided... . He endorsed Mitt Romney for President on September 12, 2011.
Jonathon Sharkey	Jonathon Sharkey Jonathon Sharkey Jonathon Albert "The Impaler" Sharkey is an American professional wrestler and perennial candidate. He resides in Florida and initially attempted to run for President as a Republican in 2012... , Perennial candidate of Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... , filed a presidential committee with the FEC on May 5, 2010. He withdrew from the race on August 17, 2011 to pursue a movie career.

Prospective candidates

The following people have been the object of presidential speculation in past media reports, but have not recently signaled an interest in actually running. This gallery does not include people who have declined to run (see below).

Declined to run

The following people, who were speculated to be potential candidates for the Republican Party's presidential nomination have clearly and unequivocally denied interest publicly, released Shermanesque statement

Shermanesque statement

"Sherman statement" or "Sherman speech" is American political jargon for a clear and direct statement by a potential candidate indicating that he or she will not run for a particular elected position....

s, or declared candidacy for a different political office in 2012. This also includes anyone who has endorsed a declared presidential candidate.

External links

2012 Presidential Form 2 Filers at the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...

(FEC)