2012 presidential election candidate preview

Tennesseans, along with voters in nine other states, will participate in the primary election known as Super Tuesday on March 6.

The most recent primary election was held over the weekend in South Carolina, where former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich won the election with 41 percent of the vote. Mitt Romney came in second with 28 percent, Rick Santorum in third with 17 percent and Ron Paul in fourth with 13 percent of the vote. These results caused a shake-up in the GOP race, where it seemed Romney was going to run away with the nomination.

Newt Gingrich:

Gingrich plans to eliminate capital gains tax, reduce the corporate income tax to make the United States more entrepreneurial competitive with others around the world and bringing more new businesses to the U.S. to create jobs.

He is a supporter and defender of the Second Amendment– the right to bear arms. As far as national security, he wants a more secure border; have clear obtainable objectives for sending military force anywhere; and to implement an energy plan to reduce dependency on foreign oil.

He wants to repeal and replace ObamaCare with a health care system that places decisions on patients and doctors.

He plans to implement a newer visa program for immigrants and wants to "in-source" the best brains in the world. He also wants to defund Planned Parenthood and protect teachers.

President Barack Obama:

The nation's current commander in chief hasn't done much campaigning so far, but his stance on many of the issues remain the same.

He stands behind tax cuts for small businesses, and he has proposed the American Jobs Act that would put Americans back to work to allow them to keep more of their earnings.

He initiated "Race to the Top" to help reward states for reforming and raising school standards to help teachers turn around struggling schools. He offered refinancing for those with student loans, and said students won't be required to make loan payments over 10 percent of their income.

He established new safety regulations for offshore drilling, and is working to implement more wind and solar power, which is helping create more jobs.

Obama signed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" that now allows gay men and women to openly serve in the armed forces.

He also signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that would make progress for women to receive equal pay for equal work.

He passed the Affordable Care Act—known as ObamaCare— that will end insurance companies denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, allowing young adults to stay on their parents' coverage until the age of 26.

Ron Paul:

The congressman from Texas is running his third presidential campaign, and though he's yet to win a primary or debate, he's not giving up.

Paul is a former OB/GYN and has a anti-abortion rights stance. He wants to repeal the Roe v. Wade ruling and pass the "Sanctity of Life Act" that would rule life begins at conception.

Paul also wants to repeal ObamaCare and plans to veto an unbalanced budget put on his desk by Congress.

He's refusing to raise the debt ceiling and driving down gas prices by allowing offshore drilling.

On national security matters, Paul, an Air Force veteran, plans to make securing the U.S. border a top priority. He also has his sights set on bringing all troops home, and only sending troops to help in a conflict with a clear mission and with all necessary tools. He also plans to protect veterans and cut waste in the trillion-dollar military budget.

He's a supporter of the Second Amendment but does not support higher taxes.

He wants to ban birthright citizenship to children born in America of illegal immigrants.

Mitt Romney:

The former Massachusetts governor is running in his second presidential campaign and has found much success this time around. However, many Americans have admitted a share in religious beliefs is important in a leader, which is proving to be a hurdle for this Mormon candidate.

Romney wants to push for a complete redesign of the tax system by removing taxes on interest, dividends, capital gains and estate tax. He wants to implement the "Reagan Economic Zone," which is a multilateral trading group of nations and legislators that are open to any country committed to free trade and principals of open markets.

Just like every other Republican candidate, Romney wants to repeal ObamaCare and replace it with market-based reforms that enable individuals and states to reduce health-care costs.

He plans to reverse Obama-era defense-spending cuts and he wants to restore the Naval credibility and enhance the deterrent against Iran's possession of nuclear weapons.

Rick Santorum:

The former senator of Pennsylvania has proven to be a contender in this race after winning the Iowa caucuses. He's made his religion a big part of his campaign, using his religious beliefs to back up some of his political views.

Santorum does not support gay marriage, nor does he support abortion rights. He wants to ban partial-birth abortions, and protect infants who survive abortions.