Rick Santorum announced Tuesday that he is suspending his presidential campaign, leaving Mitt Romney to wrap up the Republican nomination to take on President Obama despite still having GOP hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul in the race.

For most of 2012, President Obama has been running in the Democratic primary. I know that seems odd, given that he’s essentially running unopposed. But that's not what I'm talking about.

Join AEI’s Election Watch team for a reflection on the races that have already taken place and a look ahead to the contests to come.

Even if Romney becomes the nominee, it’s difficult to exaggerate the significance of Santorum’s trifecta this week in Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado.

On Saturday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry got into the race for the GOP presidential nomination, and within 24 hours, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty got out. Perry didn't exactly chase Pawlenty out of the race; the Iowa straw poll (in which T-Paw finished a distant third) did that. But the two developments are closely related. They're linked by the fact that Barack Obama is very beatable.

Sen. Jim DeMint doesn’t think people much care about his presidential endorsement. But people do care--a lot.

President Obama is reportedly gearing up to "kill" Mitt Romney in the general election. He may not get the chance. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who entered the presidential race Saturday, gets to take the first shot at the GOP front-runner-and if history is any indication, Romney won't know what hit him.

Tactically, Pawlenty's mistakes are too numerous to count. But strategically, Pawlenty had the right idea: Be the most electable candidate to the right of Romney.