The money is flooding into the Massachusetts Senate race. Former White House financial reform adviser Elizabeth Warren, who is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Scott Brown, has raised $5.7 million in the fourth …

Perry Isn’t Dropping Out — But Will The Debates Drop Him?

A new question confronting Rick Perry’s campaign, as he attempts to make his final stand in the South Carolina primary on January 21: Will he even be allowed to take part in the CNN debate on January 19, two days before the big event?

According to the channel’s criteria for inclusion, a candidate must have placed at least 4th in either Iowa or New Hampshire, or get 7% support in at least three national Republican or three South Carolina primary polls released in January. The requirements were posted online last Tuesday afternoon, several hours before before the Iowa caucuses began later that night.

Perry meets none of those qualifications at time of writing.

Newt Shrugs Off Rush Limbaugh Freakout

ROCK HILL, SC — Newt Gingrich told me he’s not worried about the blistering attack by Rush Limbaugh on his recent rhetoric attacking how Mitt Romney got rich. As he works to coalesce the fractured anti-Romney vote in South Carolina, I asked him after an event here if he was concerned that criticism from conservative icons like Limbaugh — who said Monday that Gingrich “sounds like Elizabeth Warren” and is turning off his conservative base.

On his first stop since the New Hampshire primary, Newt Gingrich arrived here Wednesday morning to a press corps eager to hear more of his attacks on Romney. Gingrich basically steered clear of the tough stuff in a half-hour address to a 300 or so person crowd at a country club. He didn’t even mention Romney’s name. But afterwards, speaking to a press gaggle, he went hard after Romney again. And he shrugged off the fact that he’s increasingly moving into Limbaugh’s line of fire.

Colbert: Rivals Piling On Romney Like Newt On A ‘Younger, Healthier Wife’

Mitt Romney only has “one tiny vulnerability” between him and and the White House, Stephen Colbert said Wednesday: “The years he spent as a heartless corporate raider at Bain Capital.”

But that’s all in the past, Colbert said. As long as he never reminds voters of what he did at Bain, he’ll breeze into office. But earlier this week, Romney did just that. Referring to insurance companies, Romney said: “I like being able to fire people” who provide services to me.

Romney Heads To South Carolina With A 10 Point Lead In The State

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney beat his opponents and even a few expectations on Tuesday night. The frame in the media over the last 48 hours was that Romney was suffering from his “I like being able to fire people” gaffe and that he was closing worse than Newt Gingrich did in Iowa. And then he took nearly forty percent of the vote, like the polls had shown he would all along.

The campaign now moves to South Carolina, where the polling has been an exacerbated version of the national picture all year. In this way the state is a bit like Iowa, which former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum nearly won over Romney with a late run to the top — South Carolina’s more conservative voters have been moving from candidate to candidate, testing them out before they reject and move on to the next one. Unfortunately for Santorum, Romney essentially cut him off on the way back to the top, winning Iowa and then dominating New Hampshire, regaining his stride as ‘Mr. Inevitable.’

Today On The Trail: January 11, 2012

New Hampshire ended as most people predicted, but South Carolina is make or break for just about everyone. Here are the 10 things you need to know.

• South Carolina kingmaker bets on Romney: It’s not an endorsement, but Tuesday night Sen. Jim DeMint predicted Mitt Romney would win South Carolina. DeMint ruled out a win by Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, who has not helped his cause by criticizing “free enterprise concepts.” The TPM Poll Average has Romney leading South Carolina with 31.1%.
• South Carolina GOP chair says state is still up for grabs: In an exclusive interview with TPM, South Carolina GOP Chair Chad Connelly said the Palmetto State will make up its own mind about the candidates. He also says Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital is fair game: “I’m not in the camp of, ‘let’s don’t bring stuff up in a primary’ because I do think it makes a candidate stronger, no matter who it is…And it also kind of vets things out so it’s out there and Obama has less chance to use it.”
Read More → 2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, South Carolina Primary, TPM Tip Sheet

State Chamber Of Commerce Members Defend Montana’s Tester From U.S. Chamber’s ‘Hit’ Ads

Recent news in the Montana Senate race shows that large, national interest groups’ views don’t always coincide with all of their members in the local community organizations — with some Chamber of Commerce members objecting to ads being run against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

The municipal Chambers — which often function as community groups as much as political ones — have had to explain to members that their local dues have not gone to pay for the ads. The ads are funded by the U.S. Chamber’s PAC, to which people specifically donate for the purpose of political advocacy.

Tester was narrowly elected in the Democratic wave year of 2006, defeating Republican incumbent Sen. Conrad Burns. National Republicans have recruited Montana’s lone member of the House of Representatives, Denny Rehberg, and recent polling has shown a tight race with Rehberg more often ahead by a very slim margin.

The Perfect Storm That Could Sink Romney’s Hispanic Vote Hopes

Romney may have just become the first Republican candidate to win both Iowa and New Hampshire — and is looking increasingly like the eventual nominee — but the primary is about to spread to the rest of the country where the Latino vote is significant. Once in the general election, that vote becomes crucial. But Romney is not on track to win over the requisite number of Latino voters, who will be key to winning swing states like Florida, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. Moreover, the Democrats may have stumbled into a neat situation that could give them an unusual boost.

South Carolina GOP Chair Says His State Is GOP Primary Reset Button

COLUMBIA, SC — South Carolina Republicans pride themselves on running the primary that “picks presidents.” And while everyone is watching for New Hampshire tea leaves, the state Republican chair told me they shouldn’t bother — anything can happen here and nothing should be taken for granted.

The Palmetto State will be the 2012 reset button, SC GOP Chair Chad Connelly insists.

Clip Of The Day: Ron Paul Supporters Have The Best Chants

You know the script: Candidate walks out on stage and enthusiastic supporters rhythmically chant said candidate’s first name.

We’ve seen the occasions when, after winning the first two nominating contests, Mitt Romney walked out to chants of “Mitt, Mitt, Mitt, Mitt” (ok, so that’s his second name).  Even Gingrich supporters have taken to the idea, chanting “Newt, Newt, Newt, Newt…”

Clearly spurred by a quest for originality and the knowledge that the aforementioned chants become both boring and inaudible after only a short period of time, Ron Paul supporters have been really working hard…