Republican primaries: Santorum sweeps Kansas caucuses
Rick Santorum has won a convincing victory in Kansas in the latest stage in the race to become the US Republican presidential candidate.
Mr Santorum was expected to do well in the strongly conservative
state, where rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich did not campaign.
He needed to do well in Kansas to keep alive his hopes of winning the ticket.
Meanwhile, Mr Romney claimed victory in Wyoming, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands.
Mr Santorum was under pressure to catch up on Mr Romney since trailing him on Super Tuesday.
Mr Romney won the lion's share of the 10 contests on Tuesday,
taking the crucial swing state of Ohio by a narrow margin and racking
up five other victories.
Mr Gingrich won Georgia on Tuesday but did not achieve the sweep of Southern states that he had hoped for.
The state of Wyoming completed its caucuses on Saturday but
there is no formal process for translating the results into delegates
for the Republican's national convention.
Before Saturday's contests, Mr Romney had 441 delegates
committed to his nomination while Mr Santorum had 183 out of the 1,144
needed. Mr Gingrich trailed with 107 and Ron Paul, who also campaigned
in Kansas, had 46.
A later tally by the Associated Press taking into account the
latest results left Mr Romney with 453 delegates - more than all his
rivals combined. Mr Santorum had 217, while Mr Gingrich still had 107
and Mr Paul had 47.
'Conservative heartland'
Final returns in Kansas showed Mr Santorum with 51% support, Mr Romney with 21%, Mr Gingrich with 14% and Mr Paul with 13%.
The Republican governor of Kansas, Sam Brownback, had
attended rallies both for Mr Paul and Mr Santorum on Friday, but did not
endorse either.
A candidate needs 1,144 delegates to win
"Since Romney and Gingrich have
decided not to campaign in Kansas, we feel pretty confident that we're
going to do well," Mr Santorum told reporters.
Speaking at a rally in Wichita, he sought to liken Mr Romney
to President Barack Obama while comparing himself to the late Republican
president, Ronald Reagan.
"We already have one president who doesn't tell the truth to
the American people - we don't need another," Mr Santorum said to cheers
from hundreds of supporters in an aircraft hangar.
"Governor Romney reinvents himself for whatever the political occasion calls for."
Mr Romney has been campaigning in Alabama, which holds its contest on Tuesday along with Mississippi.
"Washington insider Rick Santorum is lashing out at Mitt
Romney because he can't accept the fact that it's nearly impossible for
him to win the number of delegates needed to secure the Republican
nomination," said Mr Romney's spokeswoman, Andrea Saul.
Senate approves two-month extension of payroll tax cut
Washington (CNN) -- Senate lawmakers on Saturday
voted overwhelmingly to extend the payroll tax cut by another two
months, after both sides were unable to reach a comprehensive agreement
to extend the cuts and unemployment benefits for a full year.
The measure is the latest in a series of last-ditch temporary fixes,
postponing another legislative showdown between lawmakers until
February, when the bill's provisions are set to expire.
President Barack Obama told reporters that he was pleased with
Saturday's vote, which passed 89-10, but added that extending the cuts
and assistance through next year should be considered just a
"formality."
To do otherwise, he said, would be "inexcusable."
Still, it's unclear if lawmakers, mindful of upcoming elections, can
reach a broader agreement that would include a full year of cuts and
benefits.
Failure to pass the payroll tax measure -- a major part of Obama's
job-creation plan -- would have cost working Americans an average of
$1,000 in higher taxes next year.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Friday that his
party supported the proposed two-month deal because "that was the best
we could get."
The $33 billion deal, should it pass the House, also avoids cutting
federal funds to physicians who accept Medicare and speeds up a decision
over a pipeline, giving the White House 60 days to make a call on the
controversial Keystone XL project.
But, according to a GOP source, House Speaker John Boehner was the
only member of House leadership who described the Senate vote as "a good
deal" and "a victory."
Boehner's comments were made during a post-vote conference call among
Republican congressmen, and were supported by Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole
and N.C. Rep. Walter Jones.
But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, disagreed, saying he thought the package should be extended for a full year.
"The rank-and-file members are extremely opposed to it," said one GOP
source, adding that most members are concerned with the two-month
extension, its affect on the middle class, and the political benefit the
White House could gain in the national dialogue over taxes.
The House is scheduled to take up the measure Monday, a spokeswoman for Cantor said Saturday night.
The pipeline, thought to be a necessary part of coaxing Republican
support for the payroll tax break, is something the White House has
threatened to veto.
When asked about the president's support of the bill despite the
pipeline provision, a senior administration official said Friday that
Obama's top priority was making sure taxes don't go up in the new year.
The State Department has warned that a shortened deadline would leave
insufficient time to assess the route alteration on a project that
would transport oil from Canada's tar sands in northern Alberta to
refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
Obama made no mention of the proposed pipeline during Saturday's
press conference. But in a briefing with reporters held after Obama's
remarks, senior administration officials called the vote a win for
working people and insisted the administration had given no ground on
the pipeline issue.
Obama: No payroll tax cut, no vacation
The White House had delayed until 2013 a decision on the project.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said he had no idea why the pipeline is considered controversial.
"The labor unions like it. Many Democrats want it," he added. "It
strengthens our national security by decreasing the amount of oil we get
from unfriendly countries. And it wouldn't cost the tax payers a dime."
But the delay followed complaints by environmentalists and Nebraska
officials that the pipeline route could threaten that state's Sandhills
region and vital Ogallala aquifer.
Alternate routes are being considered, and Nebraska officials as well
as the pipeline company, TransCanada, acknowledge that the process of
approving a final route will last into the second half of 2012.
Republicans, who traditionally back the oil industry, have accused
the White House of delaying the issue until after Obama's re-election
bid. Labor unions that typically support Democrats back the pipeline
project, while environmentalists who are also allied with the political
left oppose it.
House Republicans pushed through their own version of a payroll tax measure this week that also included the pipeline provision.
Saturday's Senate bill is expected to reduce the deficit by nearly $3 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Its $33 billion in costs are thought to be offset by an increase in
fees that new homeowners with federally backed mortgages will pay to
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration. Those
entities would then turn that money over to the U.S. Treasury.
The bump amounts to about $15 per month for every $200,000 loaned, Senate aides estimated.
Boehner, R-Ohio, said Friday that any attempt for a short-term
extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits would be
altered in the House.
A House GOP aide said Saturday's conference call after the Senate
vote was held to weigh input from Republican members on next steps
regarding the payroll measure.
"The Speaker described three possible options -- accept the Senate
bill, go to conference, or amend the Senate bill and send it back," the
aide said. "Members are overwhelmingly disappointed in the Senate's
decision to just 'kick the can down the road' for two months. No
announcement was made regarding the schedule or plans."
CNN's Athena Jones, Deirdre Walsh and Erin Burnett contributed to this report.
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