Perhaps no flip flop in his career has caused Mitt Romney more grief among conservatives than his evolution on abortion, from a pro-choice gubernatorial candidate to a pro-life presidential contender. His struggle to convince activists of his conservative bona fides underscores the fact that toeing the pro-life line is a requirement for a Republican presidential candidate. It is a litmus test in the most political sense of the phrase.

Reps. Dave Reichert and Joe Walsh approach politics in very different ways. Reichert, the Washington state Republican first elected in 2004, has won reelection in a swing district even in good Democratic years by appealing to the core of his suburban constituency—swing voters, not ideologues, who make up a growing share of both the electorate at large and the undecided middle. Walsh, the Illinois Republican first elected in the 2010 GOP sweep, is brash and bombastic, challenging his rivals and taking no prisoners.

After some embarrassing flubs, caucus states could soon become a thing of the past.

Once, in the time before super PACs and independent expenditures, before blogs and social media made even local elections a national sport, great herds of split-ticket voters roamed the plains. They voted easily for a Democrat for one office, a Republican for the next, with little consideration for future political scientists who would puzzle over their motives. But now, ravaged by decades of hyper-partisanship, the split-ticket voter is becoming an endangered species.

Florida’s presidential primary next week is a crucial test of Mitt Romney’s front-runner status. But dive into the exit polls after voters have spoken their minds, because Florida will be a test of Romney’s strength among Hispanic voters—a relationship that could put him back on the road to the nomination or foretell his defeat in November.

Two years ago this week, the Supreme Court dealt a blow to advocates of strict campaign finance reform. But the decision in Citizens United v. FEC hurt more than just the provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act it struck down. The case exposed the new reality that, even at a time of unique discontent with the status quo in Washington, the average American has a far smaller say in today's politics than at any time since the Watergate era.

Senior Republicans may be unwilling to publicly call the presidential nominating campaign finished, but consensus is that Mitt Romney will be the party's candidate against President Obama later this year. As Romney works toward the 1,144 delegates he needs to formally lock up his party's nomination, another, far less formal and far more secretive campaign is getting under way -- the campaign to become Romney's vice presidential running mate.

How a super PAC helped to pave the way for Romney's Iowa win by bringing down his rivals.

Next year will go down in history books as the year that Iowa and New Hampshire lost their supremacy in the presidential nominating contests. 

Winning at football is pretty simple: There’s the offense, the defense, and the special teams. As legendary coach Don James put it while he led the University of Washington Huskies to the 1991 national championship: Win two of those three, and you’ve won the game.