While U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., has said he has no intention of running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, other candidates seem more than willing to take his place as one of the conservative favorites in the field.

With a year to go until the primaries and caucuses beginning to determine the Republican candidate who will take on President Barack Obama in 2012, a poll released Monday found no clear front-runner in the contest.

Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to Democrats at the national level, released a poll Thursday that had President Barack Obama leading the major Republican presidential candidates.

A newly formed group of conservatives called “America’s President Committee” kicked off a petition drive Monday to get U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana into the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

While some social conservatives continue to grumble about the gay rights group GOProud, it will be included at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) event due to be held in Washington, D.C., from Feb. 10-12, which will be packed with potential Republican presidential candidates.

Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to national Democrats, released a new poll Tuesday that showed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who moved to the Sunshine State last year, is the favorite to win the Iowa caucus if he decides to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

Another name has emerged in the already crowded field of potential Republican candidates and the new hopeful has served as governor of Louisiana. No, not Gov. Bobby Jindall who looks increasingly unlikely to launch a bid. It’s former Gov. Buddy Roemer who currently serves as the president and CEO of Business First Bank.

As the Republicans took over the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday, prominent politicians looking to be the GOP’s standard bearer in 2012 weighed in on what the new majority should focus on -- and not surprisingly, pointed toward the nation’s sluggish economy.

With 2012 in sight, a dark horse looking at running for the Republican presidential nomination will be heading to New Hampshire for an extended stay next week. Former Gov. Gary Johnson, who served two terms in New Mexico, will travel to the Granite State, site of the first presidential primary, to talk about federal spending and how Congress can reduce it.

While his name has generated a good deal of buzz, especially since the November elections, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said before Christmas he is more focused on running the Lone Star State and the Republican Governors Association rather than launching a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

A poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to national Democrats, shows that Florida Republicans can expect close primary battles in the presidential race as well as the contest to take on Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

With a host of much-better-known Republicans considering running for president in 2012, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota has been raising his profile in recent days as he reflects on launching his own bid for the White House.

Veteran Republican political operative Fred Karger took a large step toward announcing a presidential campaign on Tuesday, unveiling a television commercial and hiring staff in Iowa for a possible longshot bid at the White House. If he runs, Karger will be the first openly gay candidate for a major party’s nomination in American history.

With buzz increasing that he will launch a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson showed up in Tallahassee Thursday night still touting the trademark libertarian social issues -- legalization of marijuana, for one -- that put him in the minority of the GOP.