What Republican Can Beat Obama In 2012

Many Republicans today are asking what Republican can beat Obama in 2012?  As the primaries continue, more and more of the GOP candidates are dropping out, and that means that the remaining candidates will pick up more support in the coming primaries.  Is there any chance that Romney doesn’t get the nomination?  There is still a small chance, so as long as the other candidates are still running, let’s discuss what Republican can beat Obama in 2012.

Mitt Romney

All of the recent polls suggest that Romney has a great chance to beat Barack Obama this year.  If the election were held at the time of this writing, Romney would probably beat Obama.  Romney attracts many of the independent voters that voted for Barack Obama in 2008.  He is someone that disgruntled Democrats may vote for because he used to be a Democrat.  Even though Romney is speaking for Republicans now, he used to support abortion, healthcare for everyone, and other progressive ideas.  He switched parties as his views became more conservative, but he still holds progressive views on some issues like global warming.

Romney is also great in the debates.  He come across as someone who could debate very well against Obama in the presidential debates which will occur later this year.

Romney’s moderate leanings will cost him votes among many strong conservative candidates,

Ron Paul

Ron Paul has a great shot at beating Obama in 2012 if he runs under the Republican banner.  Paul has shown a real knack for getting his followers engaged, and he probably has the strongest dedicated support base of any of the Republican candidates.  Paul is the anti-Romney vote, but he is not the favored conservative voice, so he may have a difficult time getting support from other Republicans if he gets the nomination.

Paul also gets strong support from young people.  This is going to help him against Obama, as Obama carried a large percentage of the vote from young adults in the 2008 elections.  Paul also gets very strong support from the independents, as he is seen as someone who has very different ideas than most other candidates in the Republican Party.  He is more of a maverick and libertarian than he is a Republican, and people like his strong views on the constitution and other important issues.

Rick Santorum

He is the candidate whom I believe is the most conservative candidate among the remaining candidates in the race.  He would have a hard time getting moderates to vote for him, but he would get more votes from the evangelicals and Tea Party followers.  I personally believe he would get a large percentage of the vote because he is the candidate who is the most different from President Obama.

When it comes to the question of what Republican can beat Obama in 2012, I believe these candidates have the best chance to beat him this year.  Newt Gingrich carries a lot of baggage from his days as Speaker of the House, and Rick Perry wouldn’t debate well against Obama.

Update 1/23/2012!

I now believe that Newt Gingrich has a chance to win the nomination and beat Obama.  I have expanded on this in my latest post.