Question:easy

Who is leading in the Republican primaries to contest the American Presidential election scheduled in November 2012?

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He was a former Governor of Massachusetts, and by April 2012 his rivals had all dropped out, leaving him to face Barack Obama.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Sara Palin
  • Newt Gingrich
  • Rick Santorum
  • Mitt Romney
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

American presidential candidates are chosen through primaries and caucuses that run state by state from January onwards. Whoever collects the most delegates becomes the nominee. CLAT 2012 was written in May 2012, so the question is asking who was in front at that point in the Republican race.

  1. Sara Palin: Sarah Palin was John McCain's running mate in 2008 and stayed a familiar name in the news. She never entered the 2012 primaries, so she could not lead them.
  2. Newt Gingrich: The former Speaker of the House won South Carolina in January and Georgia in March. His campaign flared and faded, his delegate count stayed low, and he ended his run in May 2012.
  3. Rick Santorum: A former Senator from Pennsylvania, he won the Iowa caucuses and made a real fight of it in the conservative states. He was Romney's closest rival but never took the delegate lead, and he suspended his campaign in April 2012.
  4. Mitt Romney: The former Governor of Massachusetts led almost from the start. Wins in New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and most of Super Tuesday gave him a delegate lead his rivals could not catch. By April 2012 he was the presumptive nominee. This is the correct answer.

So option (D) is right.

Let's summarize:

  • Romney led the Republican primary field throughout early 2012 on delegates.
  • Santorum and Gingrich both quit by April and May 2012.
  • Romney was nominated in August 2012 and lost the November election to Barack Obama.

The Republican front runner in 2012 was Mitt Romney.

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