Iowa caucuses

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Regardless of whether Mitt Romney wins the Iowa Republican caucus Tuesday, he has enjoyed a remarkably easy presidential race so far.

When his rivals have stopped battering each other long enough to criticize him, they've often done so tentatively and ham-handedly. Romney's injury-free journey is all the more surprising because, despite some obvious campaign skills, he has well-known vulnerabilities ripe for attack.

WASHINGTON — Republican president hopeful Newt Gingrich doubled down on his criticism of federal judges and the Supreme Court on Sunday as chief rival Mitt Romney defended his record against likely Democratic attacks. With close to two weeks before GOP voters start choosing their nominee, Gingrich is courting the conservative primary voters he will need to win in Iowa and sustain his campaign against Romney, whose superior organization and pile of cash has him seeming ever more confident as he looks ahead to the general election.

PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. -- Mitt Romney is ramping up his presidential campaign in a big way -- just as Newt Gingrich emerges as a serious threat for the Republican nomination.

Over the next week, Romney's cross-country fundraising trips will cease, replaced by a more rapid-fire campaign schedule in early voting states. That means more TV ads, more media interviews and more hand-to-hand politicking in early-voting Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and, Romney says, "a couple other states."