Uncampaign News

Republicans in Iowa continued to bustle with campaign activity Thursday, in anticipation of the Iowa Caucuses scheduled for January 3. Being the first official nominating convention during an election cycle, the Iowa event is a traditional milestone in presidential campaigns. It is thought that the Iowa results will predict which Republican candidate will be endorsed by the rest of the U.S. ahead of the 2012 elections.

The candidates will spend the next five days visiting local businesses, town halls, and rallies, meeting and discussing issues with residents of the state that's firmly centered in "flyover land."

Polls have been unusually erratic, sometimes showing Texas Congressman Ron Paul in the lead, with Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney taking the lead most recently. Former Senator Rick Santorum has consistently experienced lackluster results in the polls, but he maintains confidence that the caucuses will show him favor on Tuesday.

Santorum says his unexpected rise to third place in the latest survey resulted from the opportunity to meet voters and demonstrate his alignment with their values.

Some candidates have given up hope that the Iowa results will favor them, so they are focusing their campaigns on other states.

Jon Huntsman, former ambassador to China, is staying out of Iowa altogether. "They pick corn in Iowa. They actually pick presidents here in New Hampshire," Huntsman told CBS's /The Early Show/.

And former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, the latest favorite to fade away, has tumbled into fourth place in Iowa after a barrage of negative advertising from rival campaigns. Though he continues to campaign hard in the testing ground state, Gingrich reminded reporters the candidate will be chosen in votes in 50 states, not just one, and said in many other states he retains a strong lead.

The latest poll from CNN shows a statistical tie between Romney and Poll. Romney pushed ahead of Paul 25-22, which is within the poll's 4.5-point margin of error.