Back in March of this year, the Republicans were pinning their hopes, by and large on Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts. A poll at that time gave Romney some 21% of the potential support with his nearest competitors tied for second place. Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump both had 17% in that poll, Newt Gingrich had 11% and long shot, Sarah Palin had only 10%. However, most of those potential nominees have either announced their decision not to run or are expected to do so in the coming weeks.

Romney will be hoping to continue that popularity as well as gather in some of the backing from other Republicans that are dropping out of the race before it even gets started. It is evident that Romney will have money for the campaign efforts, potentially more than any of the other Republicans with the exception of Donald Trump. Business mogul Trump announced that he would not run in a press release that assured his followers and supporters that he would continue to press for the issues that he felt strongly about.

“The Donald” was not the only Republican to announce that they would not be seeking the nomination from the party for the upcoming, presidential elections. Mike Huckabee, who along with Trump had tied up second place in the March poll made his announcement during the previous weekend. Trump had fairly solid support, causing a major stir with his demands for President Obama’s long form birth certificate. When that document was released, Trump held a press conference giving himself major credit for the accomplishment and losing most of his supporters in the process. Trump lost even more of his support when he was called “a circus barker” by the President and verbally skewered at a White House dinner/event.

That leaves Romney, who raised over ten million dollars in a single day event in Las Vegas and is expected to have raised well over $40 million dollars by the end of next month. His stiffest competition could come from Newt Gingrich who is already announcing a number of campaign promises and talking points. But, voters, especially those with long memories, are pointing out that Gingrich might be out of touch with the political atmosphere of today. In addition, it is unlikely that he will easily win over the female vote because of some of his unsavory, previous actions, including the timing of his divorce to two of his three wives.

Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska ran on the Republican ticket as Vice Presidential hopeful with Senator John McCain. She was largely ridiculed by and large, becoming a favorite target for comedians and pundits alike. So far, the Palin camp has been close mouthed about whether or not she will vie for the top spot. Even those who supported Palin consider her to be nothing more than a long shot. She is expected to announce her decision one way or another in the coming months.