2012 GOP Contenders

• Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, was the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2008, but how would she fare at the top of the ticket? A nationwide survey by Public Policy Polling in March said that under the current circumstances, if she were the GOP candidate in 2012, Barack Obama would win by 20 points.
  
  
  

  Jim Watson, AFP / Getty Images

• Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, was the last candidate to drop out of the 2008 Republican primary race after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had essentially secured the nomination.
  
  
  

  Ron Edmonds, AP

• Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, has not announced his candidacy for 2012, but he is expected to run.
  
  
  

  Susan Walsh, AP

• Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, is only 37 but is drawing rave reviews from Republican leaders.
  
  
  

  Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

• Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, has surfaced as a possible candidate for both the next presidential election and the next New York State gubernatorial race.
  
  
  

  Ethan Miller, Getty Images

• Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota, was likely the runner-up to Palin in the McCain veepstakes.
  
  
  

  Win McNamee, Getty Images

• John Thune, a freshman senator from South Dakota, is eyeing a leadership post in Congress. The Democrats are hoping to knock him off in his 2010 re-election bid to keep him from scoring the 2012 presidential bid.
  
  
  

  Lauren Victoria Burke, AP

• Charlie Crist, governor of Florida, wants to broaden the party, according to his closest political adviser.
  
  
  

  Jake Roth, AP

• Mark Sanford, governor of South Carolina, declined to run for president in 2008, but his name has come up again as a possible 2012 nominee.
  
  
  

  Scott J. Ferrell, Congressional Quarterly / Getty Images

• Haley Barbour, governor of Mississippi, served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993-1997.
  
  
  

  Rogelio V. Solis, AP