California: House CD 21: Fresno City Councilman Blong Xiong (Democratic) - added. House CD 39: Robert Edmund Lauten (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Florida: House CD 7: Jason M. Kendall (Democratic) - added. House CD 9: Todd Long (Republican) - added.

Missouri: Lieutenant Governor: state Representative Sara Lampe (Democratic) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 11: Dan Eichenbaum (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Ohio: House CD 7: Dawn Howard (Independent) - added.

Texas: House CD 21: Richard Mack (Republican) - added.

Commentary:
WHY 'LIBERTARIANISM' IS
NOT 'CONSERVATISM'
(Part Four)
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

On 3 February 1794, the United States Supreme Court- assembled in the temporary capital of Philadelphia- began holding what was its ninth Term of Court since its first having assembled as the Nation's High Court- its court of Last Resort- back in New York City almost exactly four years earlier. Now, as then, John Jay was the Court's- and the Nation's- Chief Justice.

The job of a United States Supreme Court Justice- whether that of the Chief himself or one of his five Associates- was something of a thankless one back in those days. After all, as a primarily appellate court, there still wasn't a whole lot for the High Court, as such, to actually do (the Nation still being young, with its Constitution still in its earliest period of usage, and laws passed by Congress still well filling out the....

Alabama (readied for Tuesday 13 March 2012 Primary): House CD 2: Congressman Martha Roby (Republican) - Renominated. House CD 3: Congressman Michael "Mike" Rogers (Republican) - Renominated. House CD 4: Congressman Robert Brown Aderholt (Republican) - Renominated. House CD 6: Justin Barkley (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 7: Congressman Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell (Democratic) - Renominated.

Arizona: Senate Class 1: Juan Manuel Arreguin (Democratic) - added. House CD 3: Peter B. Wilson (Green) - added. House CD 4: Rebecca DeWitt (Democratic) - added. House CD 7: Jose "Joe" Penalosa (Independent) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 4. House CD 8 Special: Mark Stephen Koskiniemi (Republican) - added.

California: House CD 26: state Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (Democratic) - added; Akiva Werbalowsky (Libertarian [Republican]) - added.

Michigan: House CD 13: John Goci (Democratic) - added.

Montana: House At-Large: Eric Brosten (Republican) - added.

Nevada: House CD 3: Stephen H. Frye (Democratic) - added.

New Jersey: Senate Class 1: Bader George Qarmout (Republican) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 6: Elisabeth Motsinger (Democratic) - removed.

Ohio (readied for Tuesday 6 March 2012 Primary): Senate Class 1: Senator Sherrod Brown (Democratic) - Renominated. House CD 1: Congressman Steven J. "Steve" Chabot (Republican) - Renominated. House CD 4: Congressman James D. "Jim" Jordan (Republican) - Renominated. House CD 13: Congressman Betty Sue Sutton (Democratic) - Renominated. House CD 14: Congressman Steven C. "Steve" LaTourette (Republican) - Renominated. House CD 15: Congressman Steve E. Stivers (Republican) - Renominated. House CD 16: Congressman James B. "Jim" Renacci (Republican) - Renominated. House CD 17: Congressman Timothy J. "Tim" Ryan (Democratic) - Renominated.

Virginia: House CD 8: Arthur Willard "Will" Radle, Jr. (Democratic) - added.

Washington: House CD 8: Ernest Huber (Republican) - added.

Commentary:
WHY 'LIBERTARIANISM' IS
NOT 'CONSERVATISM'
(Part Three)
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

On Monday 28 September 1789, the real business of early American constitution-making had, finally, been completed: on that date, the enrolled version of the 12 proposed Amendments to the United States Constitution (that document which Americans know as their 'Bill of Rights') reported out of the First Congress but two days before was signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives- Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania- and then by Vice President John Adams (in his capacity as constitutional President of the Senate)-- President George Washington's signature was not at all required, as the President of the United States has no direct role to play in the amending of the Federal Constitution per ....

The Maine Republican Party has updated their Saturday 11 February 2012 Municipal Caucuses non-binding straw poll results.

The 11 February 2012 election night results had Romney 39.21%, Paul 35.74%, Santorum 17.71%, Gingrich 6.25%, Others 1.09%. Total votes: 5,585.

The 17 February 2012 results have Romney 39.03%, Paul 34.92%, Santorum 18.09%, Gingrich 6.73%, Undecided 1.01%, Others 0.22%. Total votes: 5,814. Precincts Reporting: 99.78%.

No national convention delegates are allocated during the Municipal Caucuses - national convention delegates are first elected at the Saturday 5 May - Sunday 6 May 2012 District Caucuses and State Convention.

Arizona: House CD 3: Juan Manuel Arreguin (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: former Congressman Matthew James "Matt" Salmon (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 6.

California: House CD 15: Christopher James Pareja (No Party Affiliation) - added. House CD 46: Jerry Hayden (Republican) - added. House CD 50: David "Dave" Secor (Democratic) - added.

Colorado: House CD 6: Perry Haney (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 7: Matt Ball (Republican) - added.

Florida: House CD 16: David Lee Lutrin (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 24: Rudolph "Rudy" Moise (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 17; Congressman Frederica S. Wilson (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 17.

Illinois: House CD 12: Christopher Martin "Chris" Miller (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Kentucky: House CD 4: Marcus "Marc" Carey (Republican) - added; Walter Christian Schumm (Republican) - added.

Minnesota: Senate Class 1: Pete Hegseth (Republican) - added. House CD 3: John Howard, III (Republican) - added.

New Jersey: House CD 3: Rob Witterschein (Independent) - added.

North Carolina: Governor: Gary M. Dunn (Democratic) - added; Gardenia M. Henley (Democratic) - added. House CD 2: Sonya Holmes (Republican) - added. House CD 4: Everett Douglas "Doug" Yopp, Jr. (Republican) - added. House CD 6: Elisabeth Motsinger (Democratic) - added; Guilford County Commissioner William A. "Billy" Yow (Republican) - added. House CD 7: Randolph Wilson "Randy" Crow (Republican) - added. House CD 8: Marcus W. Williams (Democratic) - added. House CD 11: Thomas Waddell "Tom" Hill (Democratic) - added. Secretary of State: former Wake County Commissioner Kenneth Michael "Kenn" Gardner (Republican) - added. Auditor: Greg Dority (Republican) - added; Auditor Beth A. Wood (Democratic) - added as candidate. Commissioner of Agriculture: Agriculture Commissioner Steven W. "Steve" Troxler (Republican) - added as candidate. Commissioner of Insurance: Insurance Commissioner George W. "Wayne" Goodwin (Democratic) - added as candidate. Commissioner of Labor: Labor Commissioner Cherie Killian Berry (Republican) - added as candidate; former Labor Commissioner John C. Brooks (Democratic) - added. Superintendent of Public Instruction: Public Instruction Superintendent June St. Clair Atkinson (Democratic) - added as candidate.

Texas: House CD 36: Daniel Whitton (Republican) - added.

Wisconsin: House CD 7: Dale Lehner (Independent) - added.

Texas Primaries

According to the Republican Party of Texas, the San Antonio three-judge panel has indicated that the April primary election will be postponed and the new primary date is likely to be 29 May 2012. The new district maps need to be in place sometime between early and mid-March in order for this to happen.

The Texas Republican State Convention is set for Thursday 7 June to Saturday 9 June 2012 in Fort Worth and the party plans to allocate the National Convention delegates proportionally according to the statewide primary vote. This leaves about a week and a half between the primary and delegate election-- it is unlikely that the vote could be certified in time. The party may need to de-couple the selection of National Convention delegates from the primary election.

• Texas Republican Presidential Nominating Process
• Texas Democratic Presidential Nominating Process
• Texas Primaries for Statewide offices and Congress

- - - - - - - - - -

Candidate list

Colorado: House CD 6: Kathy Polhemus (Independent) - added.

Florida: House CD 7: Craig S. Miller (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 6. House CD 15: Congressman Dennis Alan Ross (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 12. House CD 17: Rudolph Moise (Democratic) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 4: Rachel Brown (Democratic) - added. House CD 8: Joe Selvaggi (Republican) - added. House CD 9: former state Senator Robert A. "Rob" O'Leary (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

New York: House CD 15: Craig Schley (Democratic) - added. House CD 22: Dan Lamb (Democratic) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 9: Charlotte City Councilman Andy Dulin (Republican) - added.

Pennsylvania: Senate Class 1: Brian Kelly (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; John Daniel Kensinger, II (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Robert Allen Mansfield (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 2: Robert Allen Mansfield (Republican) - added. House CD 4: Tanya Elizabeth Bond (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; Eric Maloney (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Matt Matsunaga (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 9: Travis Schooley (Republican) - added. House CD 10: John Moran (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 17: Luzerne County Councilman Stephen A. Urban (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. Treasurer: Treasurer Robert "Rob" McCord (Democratic) - added as candidate. Auditor General: Devon Cade (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Utah: Senate Class 1: Tim Aalders (Republican) - added.

Commentary:
WHY 'LIBERTARIANISM' IS
NOT 'CONSERVATISM'
(Part Two)
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

The traditional (or, as I sometimes put it [with tongue in cheek- though only partially so!], "public school") American History is that National Politics in the United States of America began with the Presidential (and, more or less, associated Congressional) Elections of 1796 into 1797.

(By the way, I am not at all trying to suggest that public schools necessarily distort History any more than might private schools [although sometimes they do: for example, New York State public schools are required to teach that the confederacy known as the 'Five (later Six) Nations' of the Iroquois directly influenced the adoption of a Federal system of governance under the United States Constitution of 1787, even though there is not a shred of credible historical evidence to back up such a claim....

Arizona: House CD 1: Miguel Olivas (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: Jose "Joe" Penalosa (Independent) - added.

California: House CD 29: David Raymond Hernandez (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 28.

Florida: House CD 3: Clay County Clerk of Court James B. Jett (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 6; state Senator Stephen M. "Steve" Oelrich (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 6. House CD 18: Martin County Sheriff Robert L. "Bob" Crowder (Republican) - added.

New York: House CD 22: Sean Maloney (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 3: Mel Marin (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: Charles Dumas (Democratic) - added. House CD 7: George Badey (Democratic) - added; Jim Schneller (Constitution) - added.

California: House CD 26: Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. Controller: Controller John Chiang (Democratic) - Open Office; Betty Yee (Democratic) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 3: Jon Golnik (Republican) - added.

Michigan: House CD 3: Trevor Thomas (Democratic) - added.

Missouri: House CD 3: Steven Wilson (Libertarian) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 9: Weddington Mayor Daniel B. "Dan" Barry (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 8; Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts (Democratic) - added.

Oregon: House CD 2: Keith Edmond Mathis (Republican) - added.

Tennessee: House CD 9: Rollin Wilson "Wilson" Stooksberry (Republican) - added.

Texas: Senate Class 1: John A. Lee (Republican) - added.

Virginia: House CD 5: Peyton Randolph Williams, Jr. (Democratic) - added. House CD 8: Bruce Bowen Shuttleworth (Democratic) - added.

Washington: House CD 7: Donovan "Don" Rivers (Democratic) - added.

Wisconsin: Senate Class 1: Kip Alan Smith (Republican) - added.

Commentary:
WHY 'LIBERTARIANISM' IS
NOT 'CONSERVATISM'
(Part One)
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

As I noted in my Commentary of 9 February last, we have entered a brief period of relative quiescence in the race for the 2012 presidential nominations of America's two Major Parties (in particular, the [if only for the moment] more interesting one in the Republican Party [for- at this typing- there seems little, if any, doubt that President Barack Obama will be renominated for a second term by his own Party, the Democrats)] and this "lull"- as it were- in the often frenetic pace of a Presidential Election year gives me the opportunity to now address something I have brought up in a few of my Commentaries for this website going back to the Iowa caucuses ....

Arizona: House CD 2: state Senator Paula Aboud (Democratic) - added. House CD 8 Special: state Senator Paula Aboud (Democratic) - added.

California: House CD 47: E. Peter Mathews (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 37.

Florida: House CD 18: Jerry Lee Buechler (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 16.

Georgia: House CD 7: Gary Neil Lightfoot (Republican) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 1: Bill Shein (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: Sean Biclat (Republican) - added.

Missouri: House CD 6: Theodore Harold "Ted" Rights (Democratic) - added.

New York: House CD 11: Sean Mack (Democratic) - added. House CD 12: Walter Iwachiw (Republican) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 12: Michael R. "Mike" Owens (Republican) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 4: Eric Martin (Republican) - added. House CD 10: John Moran (Democratic) - added; Phil Scollo (Democratic) - added.

Texas: Senate Class 1: Avery L. Ayers (Independent) - added.

West Virginia: Commissioner of Agriculture: Hardy County Commissioner James Michael "Mike" Teets (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Changes to the candidate list:

Arizona: House CD 8 Special: Martha McSally (Republican) - added.

Nevada: House CD 4: Kenneth Wegner (Republican) - added.

11 Feb 2012 Maine Republican Municipal Caucus Recap

Since Sunday 29 January 2012, Maine Republican Municipal Caucuses have been authorized to be held in Minor Civil Divisions within the State. A non-binding Presidential straw poll was taken at these caucuses with the results made public on Saturday 11 February 2012.

Please note that there will be a few such Municipal Caucuses held after 11 February. These later caucuses include: 18 February: Hancock County-- Gouldsboro, Hancock, Lamoine, Waltham, Sorrento, Sullivan, Winter Harbor, Fletcher's Landing, Aurora/Amherst, Eastbrook, Franklin, Mariaville, Osborn; 3 March: Hancock County-- Castine; 16 February: Kennebec County-- Rome.

No National Convention delegates are bound to presidential contenders by these events. However, since this is the start of the state's process, we will soft count the state's 21 non-party leader delegates proportionally according to the popular vote. Romney 39% (8 delegates), Paul 36% (8 delegates), Santorum 18% (4 delegates), and Gingrich 6% (1 delegate). This is a very rough estimate which will change. National Convention delegates are first elected in May.

"... there are no national delegates 'won' or 'bound' to any Presidential candidate in our caucus process. At the caucuses, we elect state delegates, election clerks, and in some cases town officers. What we also do is ask those participating in the caucus, to take a poll on which Presidential candidate they prefer. This is an unofficial, non-binding poll, that just simply shows a 'snapshot', or takes the current 'pulse', of which Presidential candidate has the most support at the participating caucuses throughout the state ... Some caucuses decided to not participate in the Presidential poll, and will caucus after this announcement. Their results WILL NOT be factored into this announcement after the fact." - Maine Republican Party

Results from Maine Republican Party.

TheGreenPapers maintains 2 delegate tallies: The soft count and the hard count. The "soft count" reflects the support for each presidential contender by either Pledged or Unpledged delegates- whether formally allocated yet or not- as best can be estimated by "The Green Papers".The "hard count" consists of a count of the National Convention delegates as they are formally allocated to presidential contenders (or to the ranks of the "Uncommitted") under the rules governing the selection of such delegates in each state or other jurisdiction.

GOP Soft delegate count: Romney 107, Gingrich 42, Santorum 43, Paul 36.
Hard delegate count: Romney 73, Gingrich 29, Santorum 3, Paul 8, Huntsman 2.

Republican Hard and Soft Count Delegate Summary

10 to 11 February 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC - The American Conservative Union) Strawpoll results. 3,408 attendees. First place - Mitt Romney: 38%, second place - Rick Santorum: 31%, third place - Newt Gingrich: 15%, forth place: Ron Paul: 12%.

Since Sunday 29 January 2012, Republican Municipal Caucuses have been authorized to be held in Minor Civil Divisions within the State of MAINE (although the State Republican Party has been encouraging each such Civil Division to hold its caucuses between 4 and 11 February); a non-binding Presidential straw poll is being taken at these caucuses. The result of these straw polls is to be made public on Saturday 11 February 2012 beginning at around 5:30 to 6:45 PM Eastern Time (2230 to 2345 GMT).

Please note that there will be a few such Municipal Caucuses held after 11 February and, therefore, these will not be included in the straw poll result being announced. These later caucuses include the following:

• Hancock County-- Gouldsboro, Hancock, Lamoine, Waltham, Sorrento, Sullivan, Winter Harbor, Fletcher's Landing, Aurora/Amherst, Eastbrook, Franklin, Mariaville, Osborn: 18 February
• Hancock County-- Castine: 3 March
• Kennebec County-- Rome: 16 February

California: Senate Class 1: Nachum Shifren (Republican) - added. House CD 37: E. Peter Mathews (Democratic) - added.

Florida: House CD 3: Congressman Clifford Bundy "Cliff" Stearns (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 6. House CD 6: state Represenative Fredrick W. "Fred" Costello (Republican) - added; Craig S. Miller (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 7. House CD 10: John Vitali (Democratic) - added. House CD 11: Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 14: Thomas E. Scherer (No Party Affiliation) - previously listed as Democratic. House CD 22: Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca (Republican) - added.

Georgia: House CD 3: former Lamar County Commissioner Kent Kingsley (Republican) - added.

Indiana: Governor: Thomas Lenfert (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; former Hamilton County Commissioner Jim Wallace (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 1: Mark J. Leyva (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Joel Jeffrey Phelps (Republican) - previously listed as Democratic; Dave Wenger (Republican) - added. House CD 2: Mitch Feikes (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Dan Morrison (Democratic) - added. House CD 3: Kevin R. Boyd (Democratic) - added; Stephen G. Hope (Democratic) - added; Justin Kuhnle (Democratic) - added; John Forrest Roberson (Democratic) - added; Tommy A. Schrader (Democratic) - added; David Sowards (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: Jason Anderson (Republican) - added; Matthew Mount (Republican) - added; William "Bill" Salin (Republican) - added; Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold (Republican) - added. House CD 6: Susan Hall Heitzman (Democratic) - added; George T. Holland (Democratic) - added; County Council President Nathan S. "Nate" LaMar (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Andrew Phipps (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Joe Sizemore (Republican) - added; Joseph S. "Joe" Van Wye, Sr. (Republican) - added. House CD 7: Bob "Citizen" Kern (Democratic) - added; Carlos A. May (Republican) - added; Catherine "Cat" Ping (Republican) - added; Pierre Quincy Pullins (Democratic) - added; Lawrence B. "Larry" Shouse (Republican) - added; Woodrow Wilcox (Democratic) - added. House CD 8: Thomas Barnett (Democratic) - added; William Bryk (Democratic) - added; former Vincennes City Councilman Garry Lee Hall (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 9: John Griffin Miller (Democratic) - added; John W. Tilford (Democratic) - added; Shelli Yoder (Democratic) - added.

Nebraska: Senate Class 1: University of Nebraska Regent Chuck Hassebrook (Democratic) - added.

North Carolina: Auditor: Wake County School Board Member Debra Goldman (Republican) - added.

Arizona: House CD 2: Ron Barber (Democratic) - added; state Representative Matthew Gerald "Matt" Heinz (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for the House CD 8 Special Election. House CD 8 Special: Ron Barber (Democratic) - added.

California: House CD 47: Alamitos City Councilman Troy D. Edgar (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Florida: House CD 2: former state Senator Al Lawson (Democratic) - added.

Massachusetts: Senate Class 1: Bill Cimbrelo (Independent) - added.

Michigan: House CD 12: Dan Marcin (Democratic) - added.

New Jersey: Senate Class 1: Ken Del Vecchio (Libertarian) - added. House CD 11: Sean Mack (Democratic) - added.

New Mexico: Senate Class 1: Lieutenant Governor John A. Sanchez (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Washington: Senate Class 1: Nancy Travis (Republican) - added. Attorney General: former Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Commentary:
END OF ACT I
The curtain has come down, but where are we
now while the unseen scenery is being changed?
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

With the three delegate selection events, on the Republican side of things, held this past Tuesday (7 February) now behind us, the first Act of the quadrennial drama that is an American Presidential Election cycle is now over.

We have now already entered a three-week period of relative quiescence: not really a hiatus, mind you (for there are still, albethey [admittedly] relatively minor, delegate selection events going on in the meantime: Wyoming begins holding a County-by-County sequence of caucuses and Maine continues to hold a sequence of its Municipal Caucuses [the results from the earlier of these being released this coming weekend]) but there are no big events- no 'Tuesday Night Fights'!- to grip the mind of the observer of the 2012 Republican presidential nominating process until Tuesday 28 February, when Arizona and Michigan hold Presidential Primaries and we are, by then, but a mere week away from the first 'Super Tuesday' come 6 March.

Alaska: House At-Large: Fletcher G. Fuller, Jr. (Write-in [No Affiliation]) - previously listed as No Affiliation.

Arizona: House CD 7: Christopher Legrande "Chris" Scileppi (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

California: House CD 1: former state Senator Sam Aanestad (Republican) - correction - previously listed as Democratic; state Senator Doug LaMalfa (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 2. House CD 22: Congressman Devin Gerald Nunes (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 21. House CD 24: Matt Boutté (Independent) - added.

Florida: House CD 6: Don Browning (Republican) - added. House CD 7: Congressman Sandra "Sandy" Adams (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 24. House CD 16: Jerry Lee Buechler (Democratic) - added. House CD 18: Patrick Erin Murphy (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 22. House CD 21: Eddie Gonzalez (Independent) - added.

Georgia: House CD 11: Allan Levene (Republican) - added.

Kentucky: House CD 3: Darren Brinksneader (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Burrel Charles Farnsley (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: William R. "Bill" Adkins (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: Michael Ackerman (Democratic) - added.

Nevada: House CD 1: Chris Edwards (Republican) - added; state Senator Ruben J. Kihuen (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

New York: House CD 9: Assemblyman Rory I. Lancman (Democratic) - added. House CD 12: New York City Councilman Erik Martin Dilan (Democratic) - added. House CD 22: Leslie Danks Burke (Democratic) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 9: Congressman Suellen "Sue" Myrick (Republican) - Open Seat - retiring; Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Pendergraph (Republican) - added. House CD 11: Hayden Rogers (Democratic) - added.

Open Governor's Chairs, Senate and House Seats at the time of the 2012 General Election

Ohio: Senate Class 1: John Fockler (Write-in [Libertarian]) - added; Anita Ríos (Write-in [Green]) - added. House CD 3: Jeff Brown (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; Darius Mitchell (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 7: Dawnetta N. "Dawn" Howard (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 10: Michael Gardner (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 11: Marie Jefferson (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 15: Ralph Applegate (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Tennessee: House CD 9: Charlotte Bergmann (Republican) - added.

Utah: House CD 1: Jacqueline Smith (Republican) - added.

Virginia: House CD 2: Keith Mathis (Republican) - added. House CD 4: Bonnie Girard (Republican) - added.

Washington: Attorney General: Stephen Pidgeon (Republican) - added.

Wisconsin: Governor: Hari Trivedi (Independent) - added; state Senator Kathleen Vinehout (Democratic) - added.

TheGreenPapers maintains 2 delegate tallies: The soft count and the hard count. The "soft count" reflects the support for each presidential contender by either Pledged or Unpledged delegates- whether formally allocated yet or not- as best can be estimated by "The Green Papers".The "hard count" consists of a count of the National Convention delegates as they are formally allocated to presidential contenders (or to the ranks of the "Uncommitted") under the rules governing the selection of such delegates in each state or other jurisdiction.

GOP Soft delegate count: Romney 99, Gingrich 41, Santorum 39, Paul 28.
Hard delegate count: Romney 73, Gingrich 29, Santorum 3, Paul 8, Huntsman 2.

Democratic Soft delegate count: Obama 460.
Hard delegate count: Obama 333.

COLORADO Republican Precinct Caucuses: No National Convention delegates are bound to presidential contenders by this event. However, since this is the start of the state's process, we will soft count the state's 33 non-party leader delegates proportionally according to the popular vote. Santorum 40% (13 delegates), Romney 35% (12 delegates), Gingrich 13% (4 delegates), Paul 12% (4 delegates). This is a very rough estimate and will change. Results from Colorado Republican Party, CNN, Google.

MINNESOTA Democratic 'First Level' Caucuses: No National Convention delegates are, technically, being pledged to presidential candidates at this time but- per the delegate selection plan being used herein- the "binding ballot taken at the precinct caucuses" is "affirmed" by those later Organizing Unit Conventions. President Obama received 98.50% of the vote. Since this is the start of the state's process, we will soft count all of the state's 91 pledged delegates to Obama. Returns from an official source.

MINNESOTA Republican Precinct Caucuses: Non-bind straw poll. No National Convention delegates are bound to presidential contenders by this event. However, since this is the start of the state's process, we will soft count the state's 37 non-party leader delegates proportionally according to the popular vote. This is a very rough estimate and will change. Santorum 45% (17 delegates), Paul 27% (10 delegates), Romney 17% (6 delegates), Gingrich 11% (4 delegates). Returns from an official source. Results from Google, FoxNews.

MISSOURI Democratic Presidential Primary: 89 of 102 delegates to the Democratic National Convention are pledged to presidential contenders based on the results of the voting in today's Missouri Presidential Primary. President Obama received 87% of the vote and uncommitted 7%. All 89 delegates are both hard and soft counted for Obama. Returns from an official source.

MISSOURI Republican Presidential Primary: This is a non-binding Primary that has no direct effect on the distribution of bound Republican National Convention delegates among the presidential contenders. Santorum 55%, Romney: 25%, Paul: 12%, uncommitted: 4%. The state's delegate selection process begins on Saturday 17 March 2012 with County Caucuses. Returns from an official source.

2012 Presidential Primaries at a Glance
Republican Hard and Soft Count Delegate Summary

COLORADO Republican Precinct Caucuses: Caucuses meet in each precinct to choose delegates to the County Assemblies and District Conventions: no National Convention delegates are bound to presidential contenders by this event.

Colorado results from CNN, Google.

MINNESOTA Democratic 'First Level' Caucuses: Precinct caucuses elect delegates to the Organizing Unit Conventions and a presidential preference ballot is taken. No National Convention delegates are, technically, being pledged to presidential candidates at this time but- per the delegate selection plan being used herein- the "binding ballot taken at the precinct caucuses" is "affirmed" by those later Organizing Unit Conventions.

MINNESOTA Republican Precinct Caucuses: Precinct caucuses meet to choose the precinct's delegates to the BPOU [="Basic Political Organization Unit" (the next higher tier: County, State Senate District or State House District)] Convention. There will also be a non-binding straw poll re: presidential preference held in coordination with these Precinct Caucuses but it is the later Congressional District and State Conventions that will actually elect Republican National Convention delegates.

Minnesota Republican results from Google, FoxNews.

MISSOURI Democratic Presidential Primary: Participation in this Primary is open to all voters who are current members of the Missouri Democratic Party.

MISSOURI Republican Presidential Primary: This is a non-binding Primary that has no direct effect on the distribution of bound Republican National Convention delegates among the presidential contenders.

polling hours in MISSOURI are 6 AM to 7 PM local time

Missouri returns from an official source.

Alaska: House At-Large: Fletcher G. Fuller, Jr. (No Affiliation) - added.

Arizona: House CD 6: Congressman Ben Quayle (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 3. House CD 8: Ron Barber (Democratic) - added.

California: House CD 45: Congressman John B. T. Campbell, III (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 48. House CD 48: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 46.

Florida: House CD 20: Gineen Bresso (Republican) - added.

New Hampshire: Governor: former state Senator Jackie Cilley (Democratic) - added.

Texas: House CD 21: Duval Candace (Democratic) - added. House CD 35: Arthur John Yoggerst, II (Republican) - added.

Virginia: Senate Class 1: Terrence Wayne "Terry" Modglin (No Party Affiliation) - added.

The Nevada GOP has issued a Press Release: NVGOP Caucus Results Certified. Proportionally allocating the 28 bound delegates by the statewide vote (and rounding to the nearest whole number) results in s Romney 14, Gingrich 6, Paul 5, and Santorum 3 delegates. Our Nevada Republican Precinct caucus page is here.

The press release by the Nevada Republican Party does not mention the number of delegates won by each candidate nor does it mention the "NO VOTE" line item present in the https://twitter.com/nvgop feed. We will contact the NV GOP for clarification to insure that we are rounding correctly. [7:49p PST update: our rounding is correct.]

The delegate allocation estimate for the Saturday 4 February 2012 Nevada Republican Precinct caucuses is Romney 13, Gingrich 5, Paul 4, and Santorum 2 delegates. 4 delegates have yet to be determined.

Here are some articles detailing the reasons for the reporting delays...
Nevada GOP dealing with trouble box of questionable ballots - Las Vegas Sun.
Nevada caucuses: State GOP rolls snake eyes - Politico.com.
Move Over, Iowa, Nevada Has A Caucus Problem Too - NPR.

Arizona: Senate Class 1: Douglas Craig "Doug" McKee (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 1: Douglas Craig "Doug" McKee (Republican) - added. House CD 8: Adam Hansen (Republican) - removed; state Representative Matthew Gerald "Matt" Heinz (Democratic) - added; Nomiki Konst (Democratic) - added.

California: Senate Class 1: Rogelio T. Gloria (Republican) - added. House CD 2: Larry Fritzlan (Democratic) - added. House CD 32: David Lawrence Miller (Republican) - previously listed as Independent. House CD 39: Hacienda La Puente School Board Member Jay Chen (Democratic) - added.

Colorado: House CD 2: Eric A. Weissmann (Republican) - added.

Florida: House CD 6: Ronald D. "Ron" DeSantis (Republican) - added.

Indiana: Secretary of State: On 4 February 2012, Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White (Republican), who was first elected in 2010, was convicted of registering and voting at an address which was not his residence. Governor Mitchell E. "Mitch" Daniels, Jr. (Republican) has named Jerry Bonnet (Republican) as interim Secretary of State.

Maine: House CD 2: Blaine Richardson (Republican) - added.

New York: House CD 22: Nathan Shinagawa (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 3: George Schroeck (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: Kevin Downs (Republican) - added; Mark Swomley (Republican) - added. House CD 13: Nathan I. "Nate" Kleinman (Democratic) - added. House CD 14: Janis C. Brooks (Democratic) - added; Hans F. Lessmann (Republican) - added.

Tennessee: Senate Class 1: Mary Taylor-Shelby Wright (Independent) - added. House CD 7: Mary Taylor-Shelby Wright (Independent) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 9.

Utah: House CD 2: Jeramey McElhaney (Republican) - added.

Virginia: House CD 7: James Dixon "Jim" Phillips (Democratic) - added.

Republican Party Precinct Caucuses in Nevada meet and each such Precinct Caucus casts votes for presidential candidates while, at the same time, choosing the precinct's delegates to the County Convention.

Most caucuses run from Noon to 3 PM local time (2000 to 2300 GMT) but at least one caucus in Clark County (home to possibly half of all Republicans expected to participate) will not begin until 7 PM local time (0300 GMT, Sunday). Only already registered Republicans in Nevada are eligible to participate in these caucuses.

The Nevada Republican Party plans to announce the first set of results at around 5 PM PST (0100 GMT, Sunday). The second set is expected around 10?? PM PST (0600 GMT, Sunday). Unlike what is more usually the case with a State utilizing the so-called 'Caucus/Convention system', the cumulative result of the voting for presidential candidates at these lowest-tier caucuses actually determines just how many National Convention delegates are bound to each such contender for the nomination.

Results from the Nevada GOP caucus webpage
Results from http://www.nvgopcaucus.com/results
Results from https://twitter.com/nvgop
Results from CNN
Results from Google
Results from Politico
Results from CBS News

Arizona: Senate Class 1: Sheila Bilyeu (Democratic) - added. House CD 8: Adam Hansen (Republican) - added. House CD 8 Special: John David Lervold (Republican) - added. House CD 9: Wendy Rogers (Republican) - added.

Colorado: House CD 3: Gaylon Kent (Independent) - added.

Florida: Senate Class 1: Dan Stojadinovic (Republican) - added. House CD 17: Walter Sutton (Democratic) - added. House CD 21: Shannon Richard Harvilla (Democratic) - added. House CD 22: Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs (Democratic) - added. House CD 26: former Winter Park City Commissioner Karen Diebel (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Illinois: House CD 6: Tim Ritter (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 10: Aloys Rutagwibira (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 11: Kane County Clerk John Andrew "Jack" Cunningham (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Diane M. Harris (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 12: Teri Davis Newman (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 18: Darrel Miller (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Indiana: House CD 4: Tara E. Nelson (Democratic) - added.

Maryland: House CD 2: Ray Bly (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 7.

Nevada: House CD 1: Mike Rodrigues (Republican) - added.

New Jersey: House CD 5: Mark D. Quick (Reform) - added. House CD 9: Blase Billack (Republican) - added; Shmuley Boteach (Republican) - added; Bruce Wrede (Republican) - added.

New Mexico: House CD 3: Jeff Byrd (Republican) - added.

North Carolina: Lieutenant Governor: former state Representative Linda Coleman (Democratic) - added.

Oklahoma: House CD 3: Tim Murray (Democratic) - added.

Tennessee: House CD 3: Scottie Mayfield (Republican) - added.

Texas: House CD 10: Eddie Traylor (Republican) - added.

Commentary:
AIN'T NO SUNSHINE WHEN SHE's GONE
The Sunshine State takes away
Newt Gingrich's momentum... but---
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

So, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is once again- as he had been three weeks before coming out of New Hampshire- the "front-runner" for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The "bump in the road" (although it was more like a deep "pothole") Romney encountered in South Carolina now seems no more than that-- at least for now ...

California: House CD 14: Carol Brouillet (Green) - added. House CD 35: Anthony Vieyra (Green) - added. House CD 36: Marcy Winograd (Green) - added.

New York: Senate Class 1: Colia Clark (Green) - added. House CD 5: Evergreen Chou (Green) - added. House CD 7: Anthony Gronowicz (Green) - added. House CD 13: Hank Bardel (Green) - added.

North Carolina: Governor: former Congressman Bobby R. "Bob" Etheridge (Democratic) - added. House CD 11: Congressman Joseph Heath "Heath" Shuler (Democratic) - Open Seat - not running for re-election.

Open Governor's Chairs, Senate and House Seats at the time of the 2012 General Election

Pennsylvania: Senate Class 1: Timothy Raymond "Tim" Burns (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Texas: Senate Class 1: Jason Aaron Gibson (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

California: House CD 32: David Lawrence Miller (Independent) - added. House CD 38: state Senator Ronald S. "Ron" Calderon (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Maine: Senate Class 1: John Michael Tierney (Democratic) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 9: Matias Temperley (Republican) - correction - running in CD 8.

Mississippi: Senate Class 1: Shawn O'Hara (Reform) - added. House CD 1: Jim R. Bourland (Constitution) - added; Chris Potts (Reform) - added. House CD 2: Lajena Williams (Reform) - added. House CD 3: John "Luke" Pannell (Reform) - added. House CD 4: Robert W. "Bob" Claunch (Reform) - added; Joshua Larose (Democratic) - removed.

New Jersey: Senate Class 1: Greg Pason (Socialist Party USA) - added.

North Carolina: Lieutenant Governor: state Representative Dale R. Folwell (Republican) - added.

Oregon: House CD 1 Special: former state Senator Suzanne Bonamici (Democratic, Independent Party of Oregon) - elected. House CD 1: Steven Cody Reynolds (Progressive) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 10: former Congressman Christopher Paul "Chris" Carney (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Wisconsin: Governor: state Senator Timothy "Tim" Cullen (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

The Democratic Convention has now a total of 5,555 delegates votes with 2,778 needed to nominate.

• Arizona changed: -1 unpledged PLEO delegate. Total: 79 delegate votes. Change due to the 25 January 2012 resignation of Congressman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords in U.S. House District 8.
• Oregon changed: +1 unpledged PLEO delegate. Total: 84 delegate votes. Change due to the 31 January 2012 election of Suzanne Bonamici in U.S. House District 1.

TheGreenPapers maintains 2 delegate tallies: The soft count and the hard count. The "soft count" reflects the support for each presidential contender by either Pledged or Unpledged delegates- whether formally allocated yet or not- as best can be estimated by "The Green Papers".The "hard count" consists of a count of the National Convention delegates as they are formally allocated to presidential contenders (or to the ranks of the "Uncommitted") under the rules governing the selection of such delegates in each state or other jurisdiction.

Florida Republican Primary: Romney: 46%, 50 bound delegates; Gingrich: 32%; Santorum: 13%.
2012 Presidential Primaries at a Glance
Republican Hard and Soft Count Delegate Summary

Arizona: House CD 4: Mikel Weisser (Democratic) - added. House CD 8 Special: state Senator Frank Ronald Antenori (Republican) - added; state Representative Matt Heinz (Democratic) - added; Jesse Kelly (Republican) - added; Dave Sitton (Republican) - added.

California: House CD 27: Congressman Judy Chu (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 32. House CD 29: Angeles City Councilman Tony Cárdenas (Democratic) - added. House CD 33: Congressman Henry A. Waxman (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 30. House CD 40: Congressman Lucille Roybal-Allard (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 34.

Florida: Senate Class 1: former state Representative Adam Hasner (Republican) - switching to U.S. House CD 22. House CD 17: Congressman Thomas Joseph "Tom" Rooney (American) - previously listed as Republican. House CD 18: Congressman Allen Bernard West (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 22. House CD 22: former state Representative Adam Hasner (Republican) - added.

Indiana: House CD 5: Congressman Danny L. "Dan" Burton (Republican) - retiring - Open Seat.

Open Governor's Chairs, Senate and House Seats at the time of the 2012 General Election

Kentucky: House CD 1: Charles Kendall Hatchett (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: Alecia Webb-Edgington (Republican) - removed; Tom Wurtz (Republican) - added. House CD 6: Patrick J. Kelly, II (Republican) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 8: Matt Temperley (Republican) - added.

New York: House CD 22: Julian Schriebman (Democratic) - added. House CD 23: Donald Hassig (Green) - added.

Oregon: House CD 1: Congressman Suzanne Bonamici (Democratic) - Elected in a Special Election with 55% of the vote. House CD 1 Special: Write-in (Write-in) - added.

The Partisan Composition of the U.S. House is now 192 Democrats, 242 Republicans, and 1 vacant seat (AZ CD 8).

South Carolina: House CD 7: Gary Montgomery Stephens (Republican) - previously listed as Democratic.

Tennessee: House CD 3: Mary Margaret Hendrick (Democratic) - added. House CD 9: Mary Taylor Shelby Wright (Independent) - previously listed as Democratic.

Utah: House CD 3: Richard Clark (Democratic) - added.

FLORIDA is divided between the Eastern and Central Time Zones: thus the polls in the Central Time zone portions of the State (the western part of the so-called 'Panhandle') open and close one hour in real time (that is: relative to Greenwich Mean Time/Universal Coordinated Time [GMT/UTC]) later than those in the Eastern Time Zone (that is: in most of the State).

The Republican Presidential Primary is 'Winner-Take-All': the winner of the statewide popular vote in this Primary will receive the pledges of all National Convention delegates from the State (50 all told-- as FLORIDA has lost half of its originally allocated delegates, by Party rule, because its Presidential Primary has been scheduled in violation of the schedule preferred by the Party itself).

The Democratic Presidential Primary is Advisory: the results of the popular vote in this Primary are non-binding-- that is: they have no direct impact upon the pledges of National Convention delegates. (FLORIDA Democratic National Convention delegates will be chosen/pledged through a Caucus/Convention procedure beginning with County Caucuses on Saturday 5 May 2012).

Returns from an official source.

Results (REPUBLICAN only) from a media source.
Results from AP.
Results from CNN.
Results from Google.
Results from Politico.

This Special Election in OREGON is being held to fill the vacancy in the United States House of Representatives created by the resignation of Congressman David Wu [Democrat] on 3 August 2011; it encompasses the State's 1st Congressional District as delineated as a result of the Apportionment following the 2000 Census (not the same numbered Congressional District as it might now result from the Apportionment following the 2010 Census).

OREGON votes by mail. Ballots must be in the hands of election workers or in an official drop-off location no later than 8 PM local time of the day scheduled for the election.

Returns from an official source. Suzanne Bonamici (Democratic; Independent Party of Oregon) won receiving 55% of the vote.

Arizona: Senate Class 1: David Crowe (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 1: Anthony Gene Prowell (Green) - previously listed as Democratic. House CD 3: David Crowe (Democratic) - added. House CD 9: Andrei Cherny (Democratic) - added.

California: Senate Class 1: David Alex Levitt (Democratic) - added. House CD 37: David Cochrane Crowley, II (Republican) - added.

Florida: Senate Class 1: Bill Gaylor (No Party Affiliation) - added; Craig S. Miller (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 7: Craig S. Miller (Republican) - added. House CD 10: Darren L. Ayres (Republican) - added; Jessica Ehrlich (Democratic) - added. House CD 27: Nelson Betancourt (No Party Affiliation) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 8.

Kentucky: House CD 4: Alecia Webb-Edgington (Republican) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 7: Karla Romero (Independent) - previously listed as Republican. House CD 9: Peter A. White (Unaffiliated) - added.

Missouri: Secretary of State: Ryan Dillon (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Montana: Governor: state Senator Jeff Essmann (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

New Jersey: House CD 3: Shelley Adler (Democratic) - added.

New York: Senate Class 1: Lumies Joseph Huff (Democratic) - added.

Ohio: Senate Class 1: David W. Dodt, Sr. (Republican) - added. House CD 6: Warren Bruce Taylor (Independent) - added.

Oregon: House CD 1 Special: Pavel Goberman (No Party Affiliation [Republican]) - apparently not a candidate.

Pennsylvania: House CD 17: Luzerne County Councilman Stephen A. Urban (Democratic) - added.

Washington: House CD 1: Greg Anders (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; former Issaquah School Board President Larry Ishmael (Independent) - previously listed as Republican; James H. L. Watkins (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

West Virginia: House CD 3: Rick Ray "Rick" Snuffer (Republican) - added. Commissioner of Agriculture: Sarah Thorndike "Sally" Shepherd (Democratic) - added.

Wisconsin: Senate Class 1: state Senator Frank G. Lasee (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

California: House CD 47: Jayendra Arvindlal "Jay" Shah (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 46.

Kentucky: House CD 1: James Buckmaster (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: Greg Frank (Democratic) - added.

New Jersey: House CD 5: Diane Sare (Democratic) - added.

North Carolina: Governor: state Representative Bill Faison (Democratic) - added. House CD 2: Clem Munno (Republican) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 16: Aryanna Strader (Democratic) - added.

Tennessee: House CD 9: Mary Taylor Shelby Wright (Democratic) - added.

West Virginia (Tuesday 8 May 2012 primary filing has closed): Senate Class 1: former Gilmer County Schools Superintendent John D. Bennett (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; K. Scott "Cody" Regan (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. Governor: Arnold "Arnie" Moltis (Democratic) - added; Joseph Oliverio (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Scott "Cody" Regan (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 1: former Congressman Alan Bowlby Mollohan (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; Daniel Scott Swisher (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 2: Michael Gary Davis (Republican) - previously listed as Democratic. Secretary of State: Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant (Democratic) - added as candidate. Attorney General: Attorney General Darrell Vivian McGraw, Jr. (Democratic) - added as candidate; Patrick James Morrisey (Republican) - added. Treasurer: state Senator William M. "Mike" Hall (Republican) - added; Treasurer Johnny Duane "John" Perdue (Democratic) - added as candidate; Curtis Robinson (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. Auditor: Auditor Glen Bertrum Gainer, III (Democratic) - added as candidate. Commissioner of Agriculture: Wayne Casto (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; John "OB" Oblinger (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

California: House CD 2: state Senator Doug LaMalfa (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 1.

Indiana: House CD 2: Andrew Ulysses Dwight. Straw (Green) - previously listed as Democratic.

North Carolina: House CD 6: Jim Allen (Republican) - added. Secretary of State: A.J. Daoud (Republican) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 1: John Featherman (Republican) - added. House CD 17: Laureen A. Cummings (Republican) - added. Attorney General: David "Dave" Freed (Republican) - added. Treasurer: Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughn (Republican) - added. Auditor General: Ann Duke (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; state Representative John A. Maher (Republican) - added; Frank Pinto (Republican) - added.

The South Carolina Democratic Party's delegate selection process begins at 10:00 am on 28 January 2012 with a Presidential Primary/Precinct Reorganization meeting. Alternately, the event may be held at 10:00 am on 3 March per the preferences of each county's Chairman. Only President Barack Obama filed as a candidate so there is no need for a primary. Accordingly, we have designated the state's 56 (37 district, 12 at-large, and 7 Pledged PLEOs) for President Barack Hussein Obama.

On 27 January 2012, Arizona Governor Janice K. "Jan" Brewer called a Special U.S. House CD 8 Primary for Tuesday 17 April 2012 and a Special Election for Tuesday 12 June 2012 to fill the Seat vacated by the 25 January 2012 resignation of Congressman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords (Democratic). Congressman Giffords was first elected in 2006. The Congressman is recovering from a gunshot wound received at an 8 January 2011 constituent meeting at a grocery store in Tuscon.

On 27 January 2012, U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe ruled that the New York 2012 primaries for U.S. House and U.S Senate races will be held on the 4th Tuesday in June, beginning on 26 June 2012. The primary was previously scheduled for 11 September. The MOVE act requires 45 days between the Primary and the General Election for overseas ballots to be sent and returned. [Case 1:10-cv-01214-GLS-RFT]

California: House CD 12: John Dennis (Republican) - added.

Florida: House CD 27: Mark Anthony Oxner (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 15.

Kentucky: House CD 5: Kenneth S. Stepp (Democratic) - added. House CD 6: Curtis Kenimer (Republican) - added.

Missouri: Attorney General: Edward R. "Ed" Martin, Jr. (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 2.

North Carolina: Governor: Governor Beverly Eaves "Bev" Perdue (Democratic) - Open Chair - not running for re-election; Lieutenant Governor Walter H. Dalton (Democratic) - added. Lieutenant Governor: Lieutenant Governor Walter H. Dalton (Democratic) - Open Chair. House CD 4: Congressman Ralph Bradley "Brad" Miller (Democratic) - no longer a candidat - retiring. House CD 13: Congressman Ralph Bradley "Brad" Miller (Democratic) - Open Seat - retiring. Attorney General: Attorney General Roy Cooper (Democratic) - added as candidate. Treasurer: Treasurer Janet Cowell (Democratic) - added as candidate. Superintendent of Public Instruction: Wake County School Board Member John Tedesco (Republican) - added.

West Virginia: House CD 2: Dugald Brown (Democratic) - added; William McCann (Democratic) - added; Howard Swint (Democratic) - added. Secretary of State: state Delegate Brian Savilla (Republican) - added. Treasurer: Steve Connolly (Republican) - added.

Arizona: House CD 1: former state Senator Jonathan Paton (Republican) - added. House CD 8: Congressman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords (Democratic) - Resigned.

Massachusetts: House CD 9: former state Senator Robert A. O'Leary (Democratic) - added.

Minnesota: House CD 6: Congressman Michele M. Bachmann (Republican) - On 25 January she announced her intentions to seek a 4th term in the U.S. House. She suspended her Presidential campaign on 4 January 2012, the day after the Iowa Caucuses.

Nevada: House CD 1: Brian Landsberger (Republican) - added.

Pennsylvania: Attorney General: former prosecutor Dan McCaffery (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; state Senator John C. Rafferty, Jr. (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

South Carolina: House CD 7: former Horry County Councilman Chad Prosser (Republican) - added.

Washington: House CD 3: Elizabeth Uelmen (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: Rich Cowan (Democratic) - added. House CD 10: Stephan Andrew Brodhead (Republican) - added.

West Virginia: Senate Class 1: Sheirl Fletcher (Democratic) - added. Commissioner of Agriculture: state Senator Walt Dolph Helmick (Democratic) - added.

Arizona: House CD 8 Special: (Democratic) - Incumbent added.

California: Senate Class 1: Al Ramirez (Republican) - added. House CD 1: former state Senator Sam Aanestad (Democratic) - added. House CD 21: John Hernandez (Democratic) - added.

Illinois: House CD 8: Robert Gregory Canfield (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Richard "Rich" Evans (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Maryland: Senate Class 1: Jim Israel (Republican) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 9: Harry Mitchell Markopolos (Unaffiliated) - added.

Michigan: House CD 14: former state Representative Mary Waters (Democratic) - added.

North Carolina: Secretary of State: Chowan County Commissioner Edward C. "Eddy" Goodwin (Republican) - added.

Oklahoma: House CD 1: John Olson (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 4: Harry Perkinson (Democratic) - added; York County Commissioner Christopher B. "Chris" Reilly (Republican) - added; Sean Summers (Republican) - added. House CD 12: state Representative Mike Turzai (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Commentary:
UH... WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
The Republican presidential nomination
race is now officially a "mess"
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

A week ago, as of this typing, it all looked so simple.

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman had already dropped out of the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination (which was not altogether unexpected: I myself thought that, having put all his proverbial "eggs in one basket" entitled New Hampshire Presidential Primary, he had to win the Granite State canvass merely to stay in-- he did not and I was rather surprised that he was going to fight on. That he was out less than a week later was only a postponing of the inevitable, really);

Arizona: Senate Class 1: Warren H. Stewart, Sr. (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 2: Anthony Gene Prowell (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 8.

Arkansas: House CD 2: former state Representative Jay Martin (Democratic) - added.

California: House CD 18: William Randle Parks (Democratic) - added. House CD 38: Benjamin Campos (Republican) - added.

Colorado: House CD 5: Douglas Kevin Bergeron (Republican) - added.

Florida: House CD 3: William "Bill" Smalley (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: Bob Black (Republican) - added. House CD 5: Bruce Ray Riggs (No Party Affiliation) - added. House CD 8: Leonard M. Church (No Party Affiliation) - added. House CD 16: Joe Arnold (Republican) - added. House CD 20: Carl Mathiesen (Republican) - added. House CD 27: Julius Anthony Melendez (Republican) - added.

Illinois: House CD 9: Susanne Atanus (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Massachusetts: House CD 4: Boston City Councilor Michael P. "Mike" Ross (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 6: William John "Bill" Hudak, Jr. (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Montana: Senate Class 1: Dennis Teske (Republican) - added. House At-Large: Jason Ward (Democratic) - added.

New Mexico: House CD 3: former Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 4: Ken Lee (Democratic) - added; Matt Matsunaga (Democratic) - added; state Representative Scott Perry (Republican) - added. House CD 18: Washington County Commissioner Lawrence O. "Larry" Maggi (Democratic) - added.

Virginia: House CD 4: Cheaspeake City Councilwoman Ella P. Ward (Democratic) - added.

We at The Green Papers wish to extend our best wishes and sincerest hope for a speedy and healthful recovery for United States Senator Mark Kirk [Republican-ILLINOIS] who suffered an apparent stroke over this past weekend and has, today (Monday 23 January 2012), undergone surgical treatment at Northwestern Regional Medical Center.

Senator Kirk was elected to the Senate in both a Special Election (to fill out the final two months of the term in the Class 3 seat vacated by Barack Obama when Mr. Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008) and the General Election (held at the same time [November 2010] for the full six-year term in that same seat); Kirk had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Arizona: House CD 2: Adam Hansen (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 8; Monty Nafoosi (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 8. House CD 8: Congressman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords (Democratic) - Open Seat:

On 22 January 2012, Congressman Giffords announced that she will resign from Congress. "I will return, and we will work together for Arizona and this great country." Once she officially resigns, the Governor of Arizona will call a special primary (80 to 90 days after the occurrence of the vacancy-- circa April) and a special general election (50 to 60 days after the primary-- circa June) [Arizona Revised Statutes 16-222].

California: House CD 15: Rohit "Ro" Khanna (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 12. House CD 28: Jonathan Kalbfeld (Democratic) - added. House CD 42: Eva Johnson (Republican) - added. House CD 52: Robert Anthony "Bobby" "Bob" Nascenzi (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Colorado: House CD 5: Robert Blaha (Republican) - added.

Connecticut: House CD 4: Richard Wieland (Republican) - added.

Florida: House CD 6: Clay County Clerk of Court James B. Jett (Republican) - added; state Senator Steve Oelrich (Republican) - added. House CD 14: Byron Donalds (Republican) - added.

Georgia: House CD 2: John House (Republican) - added.

Indiana: House CD 7: Tim Frye (Independent) - added.

Kentucky: House CD 2: David Lynn Williams (Democratic) - added.

Maine: Senate Class 1: Ben Pollard (Democratic) - added.

Michigan: House CD 13: Thamar Johnson (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: Senate Class 1: John D. Vernon (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 12: state Representative Mike Turzai (Republican) - added. House CD 14: Melissa Haluszczak (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 17: Matt Cartwright (Democratic) - added.

Texas: House CD 11: John Ulstrom (Independent) - added.

We have it on good authority that- this evening- the vote from the SOUTH CAROLINA Republican Primary is not being displayed by Congressional District by the South Carolina Election Commission because the District boundaries are still not set due to court challenges over Reapportionment after the 2010 Census (a reminder: the presidential candidate with the most votes in each Congressional District in South Carolina is to be pledged 2 National Convention delegates [while the Statewide winner in South Carolina gets the pledges of 11 National Convention delegates in addition to any Congressional District delegates he might also win])

This is being noted in order to remind interested persons that any report of delegates per candidate per Congressional District in South Carolina you might see in various sources right now may well be subject to future change; and this may also prove to also be an issue in States holding primaries and/or caucuses later on!

We estimate that Gingrich won 44 of South Carolina's 46 counties with Charleston and Richland going to Romney. CD 1 is dominated by Charleston so Romney will have won CD 1 and Gingrich CDs 2 through 7. That gives Romney 1 × 2 = 2 delegates and Gingrich 6 × 2 = 12. Gingrich received the most votes statewide (40%) giving him the 11 statewide delegates. All in all, a split of Gingrich 23, Romney 2. More when the smoke clears.

The Nevada Democratic Party held their Non-binding Precinct Viability Caucuses today. There were about 12,000 attendees at 118 caucus locations covering 1,553 precincts.

98.3% of delegates elected to the 14 April County Conventions and 9-10 June State Convention supported President Obama.

"I am excited that over 12,000 enthusiastic volunteers said 'I'm in' for President Obama today..." --Nevada State Democratic Party Chair Roberta Lange.

Accordingly, we have assigned all 36 of Nevada's pledged delegates to President Obama in the soft count (our estimate). All delegates remain available in the hard count since no National Convention delegates were actually pledged.

Reference Nevada Democratic Party: More Than 12,000 Nevada Volunteers Say I'm In for President Obama During 2012 Democratic Caucuses.

As regards the South Carolina Republican Winner-Take-Most Presidential Primary:

• Polling hours are 7:00a EST (1200 UTC) to 7:00p EST (0000 UTC).
• 14 district delegates are allocated to presidential contenders based on the primary results in each of the state's 7 congressional districts: each congressional district is assigned 2 National Convention delegates and the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in that district receives that district's National Convention delegates.
• 11 at-large delegates are allocated to the presidential contender receiving the greatest number of votes in the primary statewide.

South Carolina has been sanctioned- losing approximately half of its original delegate allocation- for holding its Primary too early re: Party rules.

Returns from the South Carolina State Election Commission.
Results from Google Elections.
Results from AP.
Results from CNN.
Results from Politico.

As regards the Nevada Democratic Non-binding Precinct Viability Caucuses:

• Voting begins at 12:00 noon PST.
• Each Precinct Caucus chooses delegates to the Saturday 14 April 2012 County Conventions.
• A non-binding Presidential Preference Poll is conducted during the caucuses.

We have updated our popular vote totals for the New Hampshire Democrats and New Hampshire Republicans according to the unofficial results from the Tuesday 10 January 2012 Presidential as published by the New Hampshire Secretary of State.

The Iowa Republican Party has released their certified Tuesday 3 January 2012 Precinct Caucus vote. 1,766 out of 1,774 Precincts supplied certified vote totals. The tally shows that Richard J. "Rick" Santorum received 34 more votes than Willard "Mitt" Romney.

19 January 2012: Texas Governor James Richard "Rick" Perry stated "... today I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president."

Governor Perry declared his candidacy in Charleston, South Carolina on 13 August 2011.

Accordingly, we have moved the 3 "soft pledged" delegates we assigned to Governor Perry in Iowa back to "(available)". Since no National Convention delegates have actually been elected in Iowa, the "hard count" remains unchanged at all 28 "(available)".

California: House CD 13: Congressman Barbara Lee (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 9. House CD 26: state Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 28: Congressman Adam B. Schiff (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 29.

Connecticut: Senate Class 1: Matthew John"EdWood" Oakes (Democratic) - added.

Florida: House CD 14: Brian Owens (Republican) - added.

Iowa: House CD 1: Ben Lange (Republican) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 9: Christopher Sheldon (Republican) - added.

Michigan: House CD 11: state Senator Michael W. "Mike" Kowall (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Missouri: House CD 4: County Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Hensley (Democratic) - added.

New Mexico: Senate Class 1: Michael Ham (Democratic) - added.

New York: House CD 13: Mark Murphy (Democratic) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 9: Michael Shaffer (Republican) - added.

Oregon: House CD 5: Karen Bowerman (Republican) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 3: Missa Eaton (Democratic) - added.

Texas: Senate Class 1: Wayne Huffman (Libertarian) - added; Scott Jameson (Libertarian) - added; Jon Roland (Libertarian) - added. House CD 14: Bob Smither (Libertarian) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 19: Richard "Chip" Peterson (Libertarian) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 18. House CD 33: Al Lee (Republican) - Pending. Railroad Commissioner 2: Vivekananda Wall (Libertarian) - added.

Utah: Senate Class 1: Dale Ash (Republican) - added.

Virginia: House CD 3: Dean Longo (Republican) - added.

California: House CD 26: state Senator Tony Strickland (Republican) - added.

Illinois: House CD 5: Nancy Wade (Green) - added.

New York: House CD 22: Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey (Democratic) - Open Seat - retiring.

Pennsylvania: House CD 4: Michael Bryant "Mike" Koffenberger (Libertarian) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 19; Eric Maloney (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 19; Theadore "Ted" Waga, III (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 19.

Wisconsin: Governor: state Senator Timothy "Tim" Cullen (Democratic) - added; former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk (Democratic) - added.

California: House CD 5: Congressman C. Michael "Mike" Thompson (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 1. House CD 24: Christopher "Chris" Mitchum (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 23; Thomas C. "Tom" Watson (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 23.

Colorado: House CD 1: Gary Swing (Green) - added.

Illinois: House CD 4: Hector L. Concepcion (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Jorge Zavala (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Mississippi: Senate Class 1: Tom Cramer (Independent) - added; Albert N. Gore, Jr. (Democratic) - added; E. Allen Hathcock (Republican) - added; Robert Maloney (Republican) - added; Will Oatis (Democratic) - added; Roger Weiner (Democratic) - added. House CD 1: Danny Bedwell (Libertarian) - added. House CD 2: Bill Marcy (Republican) - added. House CD 3: Robert Allen (Republican) - added; Crystal Biggs (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: Cindy Burleson (Republican) - added; Michael Herrington (Democratic) - added; Joshua LaRose (Democratic) - added; Ron Vincent (Republican) - added; Jason Vitosky (Democratic) - added; Ron Williams (Libertarian) - added.

Montana: Secretary of State: Drew Turiano (Republican) - added.

New York: House CD 19: Tuxedo Park Mayor Thomas "Tom" Wilson (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 19: Congressman Todd R. Platts (Republican) - Open Seat - retiring.

Utah: Senate Class 1: Loy A. "Arlan" Brunson (Republican) - added.

Washington: House CD 1: Andrew Ifits Hughes (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

The Idaho Republican Party approved a change to their delegate selection process during the weekend of 7-8 January 2012. Instead of a 60% threshold to achieve a winner take all (for the county's share of National Delegates) at the Tuesday 6 March 2012 County Caucuses, the threshold is now "greater than 50%".

On 16 January 2012, the Louisiana Republican Party announced that their District Caucuses would be held on Saturday 28 April 2012. These caucuses choose delegates to the Saturday 2 June State Convention. The caucus participants will alone determine if presidential preference is to be a factor in such choice and, if so, how it is to be applied.

Alabama: House CD 2: Therese Ford (Democratic) - added. House CD 3: Lee County Commissioner John Andrew Harris (Democratic) - added. House CD 4: state Representative Daniel H. Boman (Democratic) - added; Rick Neighbors (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: Jason Edward Anderson (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; state Senator Scott Beason (Republican) - added. House CD 6: Congressman Spencer T. Bachus (Republican) - added as candidate; Penny Huggins Bailey (Democratic) - added; Justin Barkley (Republican) - added; William Barnes (Democratic) - added; Al Mickle (Republican) - added; Stan Pate (Republican) - added; Blount County Probate Judge David Standridge (Republican) - added. House CD 7: Don Chamberlain (Republican) - added.

Arkansas: House CD 4: D.C. Morrison (Democratic) - added.

California: House CD 31: Russ Warner (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Mississippi: House CD 1: Brad Morris (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: Senate Class 1: Laureen A. Cummings (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 14: Melissa Haluszczak (Republican) - added.

Texas: House CD 2: James B. Veasaw (Libertarian) - added; John Wieder (Libertarian) - added. House CD 3: Christopher J. Claytor (Libertarian) - added. House CD 5: Ken Ashby (Libertarian) - added. House CD 6: Arlin Hugh "Hugh" Chauvin (Libertarian) - added. House CD 7: Drew Parks (Libertarian) - added. House CD 8: Roy Hall (Libertarian) - added. House CD 10: Richard Priest (Libertarian) - added. House CD 12: Patrick W. Hisel (Libertarian) - added; Matthew Solodow (Libertarian) - added. House CD 14: Zach Grady (Libertarian) - added. House CD 16: Junart Sodoy (Libertarian) - added. House CD 17: Ben Easton (Libertarian) - added. House CD 18: Richard "Chip" Peterson (Libertarian) - added. House CD 20: A.E. "Tracy" Potts (Libertarian) - added. House CD 21: John-Henry Liberty (Libertarian) - added; Rhett Rosenquest Smith (Green) - added; James Arthur Strohm (Libertarian) - added. House CD 22: Steve Susman (Libertarian) - added. House CD 23: J.B. Oswalt (Libertarian) - added. House CD 24: David Sparks (Libertarian) - added. House CD 25: Scott J. Ballard (Libertarian) - added. House CD 26: Mark Boler (Libertarian) - added. House CD 27: Corrie Byrd (Libertarian) - added; Salomon Torres (Democratic) - added. House CD 29: James Stanczak (Libertarian) - added. House CD 30: Ed Rankin (Libertarian) - added. House CD 31: Ethan Garofolo (Libertarian) - added. House CD 32: Seth Hollist (Libertarian) - added; Brian Zoch (Libertarian) - added. House CD 33: Tommy Alicea (Libertarian) - added. House CD 34: Steven "Ziggy" Shanklin (Libertarian) - added. House CD 35: Ross Lynn Leone (Libertarian) - added.

"Today I am suspending my campaign and supporting the candidate who is best-equipped to defeat the president and return conservative leadership to the White House: Governor Mitt Romney." - former Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.

TheGreenPapers maintains 2 delegate tallies: The soft count and the hard count. The "soft count" reflects the support for each presidential contender by either Pledged or Unpledged delegates- whether formally allocated yet or not- as best can be estimated by "The Green Papers".The "hard count" consists of a count of the National Convention delegates as they are formally allocated to presidential contenders (or to the ranks of the "Uncommitted") under the rules governing the selection of such delegates in each state or other jurisdiction.

2 delegates were bound to Huntsman in the Tuesday 10 January 2012 New Hampshire Republican Primary. Our "hard count" will continue to reflect the original binding (Romney 7, Paul 3, Huntsman 2). However, our "soft count" now shows those 2 delegates as supporting Romney (Romney 9, Paul 3).

Governor Huntsman announced that he was seeking the Republican Presidential nomination on 21 June 2011.

Alabama: House CD 1: Curtis Monroe Railey (Unaffiliated) - added.

Arizona: House CD 1: Douglas "Doug" Wade (Republican) - added.

California: Senate Class 1: Robert Edmund Lauten (Republican) - added. House CD 31: Justin Sung-Sup Kim (Democratic) - added. House CD 33: David W. Steinman (Green) - added. House CD 51: John L. Brooks, II (Democratic) - added.

Colorado: House CD 1: Danny E. Stroud (Republican) - added.

Kentucky: House CD 4: Brian Douglas Oerther (Republican) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 4: Paul Heroux (Democratic) - added.

Missouri: Senate Class 1: Jerry Garth Beck (Republican) - added.

New Jersey: House CD 7: David Kenny Larsen (Republican) - added.

Ohio: House CD 10: Richard Scott Wharton (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate in this CD. Filed with the FEC for CD 15.

South Carolina: House CD 7: Randal Wallace (Republican) - added.

Media reports state that former Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. will drop out of the Republican Presidential Contest and endorse former Massachusetts Governor Willard "Mitt" Romney.

Alabama: House CD 5: former Congressman Parker Griffith (Republican) - added.

Arizona: Senate Class 1: Tony Enrique Flores (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

California: House CD 8: state Assemblyman Paul Cook (Republican) - added; San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt (Republican) - added.

Indiana: House CD 4: former Newton County Assessor Lester Terry Moore (Democratic) - added.

Kansas: House CD 3: George N. York (Democratic) - added.

Mississippi: House CD 1: Robert Estes (Republican) - added.

Missouri: House CD 8: Bob Parker (Republican) - added.

Nevada: House CD 3: Rob Sheridan (Independent) - added.

Oklahoma: House CD 4: Donna Bebo (Democratic) - added.

Utah: House CD 4: Bob Fuehr (Republican) - added.

Alabama: House CD 6: state Senator Scott Beason (Republican) - added.

Alaska: House At-Large: Sidney I. Hill (No Affiliation) - added.

Arizona: Senate Class 1: David Ruben (Democratic) - added.

California: House CD 31: Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar (Democratic) - added; state Senator Bob Dutton (Republican) - added; Congressman Gary G. Miller (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 39. House CD 41: Congressman Jerry Lewis (Republican) - Open Seat - retiring.

Connecticut: House CD 1: Mike McDonald (Republican) - added.

Georgia: House CD 12: Lee Benedict (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Maria Sheffield (Republican) - added.

Missouri: House CD 5: Jason Greene (Republican) - added; Jacob Turk (Republican) - added.

New York: House CD 23: Kellie Greene (Republican) - added; Tim Stampfler (Republican) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 8: Kathy Boockvar (Democratic) - added.

Virginia: House CD 1: Adam Cook (Democratic) - added.

West Virginia: Senate Class 1: John Reeves Raese (Republican) - added. Auditor: former state Delegate Larry Faircloth (Republican) - added.

Commentary:
SO WHOSE PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATIONS
ARE TRULY "GOING SOUTH"?
The Palmetto State will either set the
stage or keep things rather messy
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is certainly sitting pretty right now: after all, he won (albeit just barely) the Iowa caucuses and then won big in New Hampshire (and, further, saw the man he had virtually tied with in Iowa just a week before- former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum- end up in 5th place in [and gaining no National Convention delegates at all from] the Granite State

Arizona: House CD 9: Travis W. Grantham (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 6.

Illinois: House CD 16: Bronco Bojovic (Independent) - added.

Indiana: House CD 6: Bartholomew County Coroner Allen K. Smith (Republican) - added.

Kentucky: House CD 4: Lewis County Judge-Executive Thomas H. Massie (Republican) - added.

Maryland: House CD 1: Kimberly "Kim" Letke (Democratic) - added. House CD 2: Steven Duvall Bowen (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Rick Impallaria (Republican) - added; state Delegate Patrick L. "Pat" McDonough (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 3: Armand F. Girard (Republican) - added; John Rea (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 4: Randy Gearhart (Republican) - added; Greg Holmes (Republican) - added; Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Frederick Ivey (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; Faith M. Loudon (Republican) - added; Charles Shepherd (Republican) - added. House CD 6: Peter James (Republican) - added; Ron Little (Democratic) - added. House CD 7: M. Justin Kinsey (Republican) - added; Frank Mirabile, Jr. (Republican) - added. House CD 8: Gus Alzona (Republican) - added; Ken Timmerman (Republican) - added.

Michigan: House CD 6: former state Representative Jack Hoogendyk (Republican) - added.

Nebraska: Senate Class 1: Sherman Yates (Democratic) - added.

Rhode Island: House CD 1: former state Representative John J. Loughlin, II (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

TheGreenPapers maintains 2 delegate tallies: The soft count and the hard count. The "soft count" reflects the support for each presidential contender by either Pledged or Unpledged delegates- whether formally allocated yet or not- as best can be estimated by "The Green Papers".The "hard count" consists of a count of the National Convention delegates as they are formally allocated to presidential contenders (or to the ranks of the "Uncommitted") under the rules governing the selection of such delegates in each state or other jurisdiction.

Republican Primary: Romney: 39%, 7 bound delegates. Paul: 23%, 3 bound delegates. Huntsman: 17%, 2 bound delegates.
Democratic Primary: Obama: 82%: 28 pledged delegates.
2012 Presidential Primaries at a Glance

California: House CD 1: state Senator Doug LaMalfa (Republican) - added. House CD 2: Congressman Walter William "Wally" Herger, Jr. (Republican) - Open Seat; Congressman Walter William "Wally" Herger, Jr. (Republican) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 31: Rita Ramirez-Dean (Democratic) - added.

Maryland: House CD 6: state Delegate Kathryn L. "Kathy" Afzali (Republican) - added; former state Senator Alexander Xavier "Alex" Mooney (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Massachusetts: House CD 9: Matias Temperley (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 10.

Missouri: Lieutenant Governor: former state Representative Judy Baker (Democratic) - added; state Senator Luann Ridgeway (Republican) - added.

Nebraska: Senate Class 1: Steven P. Lustgarten (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 2.

New Jersey: House CD 5: Teaneck Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen (Democratic) - added. House CD 12: Eric Beck (Republican) - added.

Tennessee: Senate Class 1: Grover Cleveland Mullins, Jr. (Democratic) - added.

Texas: House CD 35: Maria Luisa Alvarado (Democratic) - added.

By Law: polls must open no later than 11 AM local time (1600 GMT); they may thereafter close at any time after all registered voters in the election area (often an entire Town[ship]- or equivalent- of relatively small population) have voted but, whether or not all registered voters in a given jurisdiction have so voted, the polls must close at 7 PM local time (0000 GMT), although Cities (as opposed to Town[ship]s or equivalent) may- by local option- keep their polls open until 8 PM local time (0100 GMT).

As regards the Republican Presidential Primary: a 10% threshold re: the statewide popular vote is required in order for a presidential contender to be allocated National Convention delegates (12 delegates to the Republican National Convention are being pledged to presidential contenders based on the results of the voting in the New Hampshire Primary [New Hampshire has been sanctioned- via losing approximately half of its original delegate allocation- for holding its Primary too early re: Party rules]).

As regards the Democratic Presidential Primary: A candidate must receive 15% or more of the total popular vote to qualify for National Convention delegates (18 of which are pledged via the popular vote in a Congressional District [that is: 9 delegates in each of the State's 2 CDs]; 10 delegates are to be pledged to presidential contenders based on the primary vote statewide.)

The Maine Democratic Party has updated their 2012 Delegate Selection plan.

Maine has moved its 1st determining step, the Municipal Caucuses, from Sunday 11 March to Sunday 26 February 2012. To avoid a penalty, the party has requested a timing waiver from the DNC.

"Delegate selection primaries, caucuses, and conventions will begin on the first Tuesday in March..." [2012 Delegate Selection Rules for the Democratic National Convention: Rule 11.A.]

Alabama: House CD 5: Charlie Holley (Democratic) - added.

Arizona: House CD 4: Congressman Paul Anthony Gosar (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 1.

California: House CD 24: Congressman Elton Gallegly (Republican) - Open Seat. House CD 26: Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks (Republican) - added.

Maine: House CD 1: state Senator Jonathan T. E. "Jon" Courtney (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Maryland: Senate Class 1: Joseph Alexander (Republican) - added; Robert "Bro" Broadus (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 4; John B. Kimble (Republican) - added; Blaine Taylor (Democratic) - added; Ed Tinus (Democratic) - added; Brian Vaeth (Republican) - added; Corrogan R. Vaughn (Republican) - added. House CD 2: Vladmir Degen (Republican) - added; Howard H. Orton (Republican) - added; Congressman Charles Albert Dutch "C.A. Dutch" Ruppersberger, III (Democratic) - added as candidate. House CD 3: Thomas E. "Pinkston" Harris (Republican) - added; Eric Delano Knowles (Republican) - added; Draper S. Phelps (Republican) - added; John Rea (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: David Hill (Republican) - added; Glenn Troy Morton (Republican) - added. House CD 6: Charles Bailey (Democratic) - added. House CD 7: Ray Bly (Republican) - added; Robert Henry Brookman (Unaffiliated) - added; Charles U. Smith (Democratic) - added. House CD 8: George English (Democratic) - added; George Gluck (Green) - added; Shelly Skolnick (Republican) - added; David Drain "Dave" Wallace, II (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 6.

Nebraska: House CD 2: Glenn Freeman (Republican) - added.

Nevada: Senate Class 1: Barry Ellsworth (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: House CD 11: Gene Stilp (Democratic) - added.

Texas: Senate Class 1: Michael Champion (Independent) - added.

Utah: Senate Class 1: state Representative Christopher N. "Chris" Herrod (Republican) - added. Governor: David Kirkham (Republican) - added.

Virginia: Senate Class 1: state Delegate Robert G. "Bob" Marshall (Republican) - added; David Stroupe (Independent) - added.

Washington: House CD 1: former Issaquah School Board President Larry Ishmael (Republican) - added.

California: House CD 26: Oxnard Harbor District President Jess Herrera (Democratic) - added.

Florida: House CD 14: Trey Radel (Republican) - added.

Kentucky: House CD 6: Randolph S. Vance (Write-in) - added.

Massachusetts: House CD 4: Middlesex District Attorney Joseph Patrick Kennedy, III (Democratic) - added; Jules Levine (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: Gerry Dembrowski (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 7; Jeffrey "Jeff" Semon (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 7. House CD 7: Karla Romero (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 8.

Nebraska: House CD 2: Steven P. Lustgarten (Democratic) - added.

South Carolina: House CD 7: state Representative Larkin Taylor Thaddeus "Thad T." Viers (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Texas: House CD 16: Corey Dean Roen (Republican) - Pending.

Commentary:
HAWKEYE STATE MESSAGE;
GRANITE STATE DELIVERY
by Richard E. Berg-Andersson TheGreenPapers.com Staff

Well... we're finally underway... the 2012 Presidential Election cycle has officially started with the holding of the Iowa caucuses this past Tuesday (3 January). This is the fourth Presidential Election cycle of the life of The Green Papers and, in three of these four (all except the first one [2000...

California: House CD 26: Zeke Ruelas (Democratic) - added.

Florida: House CD 15: Richard H. Gillmor (No Party Affiliation) - added.

Maryland: House CD 6: former Montgomery County Councilmember At-Large Duchy Trachtenberg (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Nevada: House CD 4: Danny Tarkanian (Republican) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 5: Forsyth County School Board Member Elizabeth Motsinger (Democratic) - added.

Ohio: House CD 10: John David Anderson (Republican) - Pending; David Harlow (Libertarian) - added; Tom McMasters (Democratic) - added; Sharen Neuhardt (Democratic) - added.

Utah: Senate Class 1: former state Senator Dan Liljenquist (Republican) - added.

TheGreenPapers maintains 2 delegate tallies: The soft count and the hard count. The "soft count" reflects the support for each presidential contender by either Pledged or Unpledged delegates- whether formally allocated yet or not- as best can be estimated by "The Green Papers".The "hard count" consists of a count of the National Convention delegates as they are formally allocated to presidential contenders (or to the ranks of the "Uncommitted") under the rules governing the selection of such delegates in each state or other jurisdiction.

Republican Party Caucuses met in each precinct, took a Presidential Poll by secret ballot, and selected the precinct's delegates to the County Convention.

Note that 0 national convention delegates are allocated during the Precinct Caucuses - national convention delegates are first elected on Saturday 16 June 2012. The vote-- Romney (24.55%) and Santorum (24.54%) are tied for 1st place-- it's too close to call. Paul came in 3rd with 21.45%. We allocated the state's 25 non-party leader delegates proportionally according to the statewide popular vote for those candidates receiving 5% or more. This is a very rough estimate and will change by the time the state convention meets. We have "soft counted" the delegates as Romney 6, Santorum 6, Paul 6, Gingrich 4, and Perry 3. Since Iowa does not bind their delegates, all delegates will be "hard counted" as "Uncommitted" on Saturday 16 June 2012.

Democratic Party Caucuses gathered in each precinct to choose the precinct's delegates to County Conventions based on presidential preference of the participants.

A statement from IDP Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky on tonight's Iowa Democratic Caucuses: "Tonight's caucus successfully brought our supporters together, and we’re overwhelmed that more than 25,000 Iowans turned out to talk about the President's record .... We not only saw how excited Iowans are to support President Obama, but to also work for his reelection." Based on that statement, we are "soft counting" all 54 pledged delegates to President Obama. Note that zero national convention delegates are allocated during the Precinct Conventions - national convention delegates are first pledged ("hard counted") and elected during the Saturday 28 April 2012 District Conventions and again at the Saturday 16 June 2012 State Convention.

Arizona: House CD 9: state Senator Kyrsten Sinema (Democratic) - added.

Delaware: Governor: Jeff Cragg (Republican) - added. Lieutenant Governor: Sher Valenzuela (Republican) - added. Commissioner of Insurance: Ben Mobley (Republican) - added; Jim Van Houghton (Republican) - added.

Indiana: Senate Class 1: Bob Thomas (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Kentucky: House CD 4: Ben Dusing (Republican) - apparently not a candidate.

Nebraska: House CD 2: Paul Anderson (Republican) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 11: Ethan Wingfield (Republican) - previously listed as Unaffiliated.

Ohio: House CD 3: John Adams (Republican) - added; Jeff Brown (Democratic) - added; Bob Fitrakis (Green) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 12; Chris Long (Republican) - added; Darius Mitchell (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: Aaron Patterson (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate. House CD 10: Edward Breen (Republican) - added; William R. "Bill" Conner (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; David Esrati (Democratic) - added; Michael Gardner (Democratic) - added; John Mitchel (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Ryan Steele (Democratic) - added; L. Mack VanAllen (Democratic) - added; Richard Scott Wharton (Democratic) - added.

Pennsylvania: Auditor General: Devon Cade (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 2.

Tennessee: House CD 3: Ron Bhalla (Republican) - added.

Texas: House CD 16: Ben E. "Buddy" Mendoza (Democratic) - added.

on the challenging- the Republican Party- side:

• Republican Party Caucuses meet in each precinct at 7 PM CST [0100 GMT]. Each Precinct Caucus takes a Presidential Poll by secret ballot and also chooses the precinct's delegates to the County Convention.
• Results from nj.com
• Results from cnn.com
• Results from AP
• Results from CBS News
• Results from DesMoines Register
• Results from Google
• Results from New York Times

on the incumbent- the Democratic Party- side:

• Democratic Party Caucuses gather in each precinct at 6:30 PM CST [0030 GMT]. Each Precinct Caucus itself begins at 7 PM [0100 GMT] and each such meeting chooses the precinct's delegates to County Conventions based on presidential preference of the participants.

NOTE: These are Closed caucuses: that is, participation is limited to Party members.

NOTE: Estimates will, of course, be made by media outlets- as well as by the campaigns of the presidential contenders themselves- as to how many of IOWA's National Convention delegates each presidential contender is likely to be ultimately be receiving as a result of the these caucuses but, of course, since no National Convention delegates are actually being chosen by these caucuses, all such estimates of National Convention delegate 'strength' per candidate (in 2012 of course, this is much more an issue on the Republican side, with the Democrats having an incumbent President seeking re-nomination) will almost certainly, come the later Congressional District and State Conventions, be rather different!

Arizona: Senate Class 1: Sydney Dudikoff (Democratic) - added.

California: House CD 38: Jorge Robles (Republican) - added.

Maine: Senate Class 1: state Senator Cynthia A. Dill (Democratic) - added.

North Carolina: House CD 11: Ethan Wingfield (Unaffiliated) - added.

Ohio: House CD 1: Sandra Queen Noble (Libertarian) - previously listed as Democratic. House CD 4: Chris Kalla (Libertarian) - added; Jim Slone (Democratic) - added. House CD 5: Eric Eberly (Libertarian) - added; Aaron Patterson (Democratic) - added; Robert Wallis (Republican) - added. House CD 6: Cas Adulewicz (Democratic) - added; Victor Smith (Republican) - added. House CD 7: Congressman Robert Brian "Bob" Gibbs (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 18; Joyce Healy-Abrams (Democratic) - added; Dawnetta N. "Dawn" Howard (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 16; Hombre Liggett (Republican) - added; John Mitchel (Republican) - removed. House CD 9: Sean Stipe (Libertarian) - added; Graham Veysey (Democratic) - added. House CD 10: John David Anderson (Republican) - added; William R. "Bill" Conner (Democratic) - Pending; Olivia Freeman (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 7; Robert S. "Rob" Frost (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Thomas A. "Tom" Guarente (Republican) - apparently not a candidate; Kenneth Mark "Mark" Kevesdy (Independent) - apparently not a candidate; Congressman Michael R. "Mike" Turner (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 3. House CD 11: Gerald Henley (Democratic) - added; Marie Jefferson (Democratic) - added; Isaac Powell (Democratic) - added. House CD 12: Bob Fitrakis (Green) - added; Doug Litt (Democratic) - added. House CD 13: Lisa Regula Meyer (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; Congressman Timothy J. "Tim" Ryan (Democratic) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 17. House CD 14: John H. Greene, Jr. (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate; Congressman Steven C. "Steve" LaTourette (Republican) - added as candidate; David Macko (Libertarian) - added; Elaine Mastromatteo (Green) - added. House CD 15: Ralph Applegate (Republican) - added; Charles Chope (Republican) - added; Scott Wharton (Democratic) - added. House CD 16: Jeff Blevins (Libertarian) - added. House CD 18: Zachary T. "Zack" Space (Democratic) - apparently not a candidate.

Utah: House CD 2: Jason Ogden Buck (Republican) - previously listed as a candidate for House CD 1.