Newt Gingrich wearing a yarmulke (Photo: Getty)

Florida's diverse demographics have brought new elements to the Republican primary, from bringing the focus to Latino issues, to the state's elderly population. Now, Florida's Jewish bloc is impacting the dialogue as Newt Gingrich and his surrogates raise questions about Mitt Romney's cuts to kosher food programs during his tenure as Governor of Massachusetts.

Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a power broker in New York's Orthodox Jewish community, blasted Mr. Romney's decision to eliminate the $5-a-day funding for kosher meals in Jewish nursing homes.

“Well, `let them eat pork or let them eat something else’ — if you’re kosher, you’re not eating anything else," he told the Post. "It’s just that simple. Why Romney didn’t get it at that particular time is disappointing and quite shocking to me."

At the time, Romney explained his decision by saying the kosher costs "'unnecessarily' would lead to an 'increased rate for nursing facilities,' the Post wrote over the weekend. "[E]ven as kosher nursing homes were complaining that state-funding-formula changes could force them to close their kitchens."

An anonymous Romney aide defended the former governor's kosher record to BuzzFeed, arguing it was only a temporary cut made during a fiscal crisis.

Newt Gingrich (Photo: Getty)

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich surged to the front of the pack and pulled out a victory in South Carolina's Republican primary tonight. Mr. Gingrich, whose performance in the polls over the last year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, was immediately declared the winner by Fox News, ABC News and MSNBC when polls closed at 7pm.

The defeat is the second set back for Mr. Romney in two days. In addition to losing the Palmetto State, his win in Iowa was reversed yesterday to former Senator Rick Santorum, who finished tonight towards the bottom of the four candidates still competing for the Republican presidential nomination, along with Congressman Ron Paul.

On Thursday, Texas Governor Rick Perry dropped out and endorsed Mr. Gingrich, giving the former House Speaker another boost to his unconventional campaign.

Despite emerging as the clear alternative to Mr. Romney, Mr. Gingrich still has an uphill climb to win his party's nomination. South Carolina, with its large numbers of evangelical, conservative voters was a weak spot for Mr. Romney, who still maintains a lead in the next two states--Florida and Nevada.

Florida, the next primary contest on January 31st, will present a new set of challenges to the candidates. The state's large population could strain campaign war chests as they spread their messages on the airwaves. And the primary demographics there contain larger segments of elderly and Latino voters than the campaigns have faced so far. Both Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney have already begun to air Spanish-language ads, and Mr. Romney has taken a more spirited defense of Social Security in the state.

Barack Obama (Photo: Wikimedia)

For every presidential election, party delegates at the Democratic and GOP conventions officially nominate their nominees. Politicker has obtained the final New York delegate slate for President Barack Obama that will be traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina to nominate him for reelection in September.

Included in the list are a whole host of elected officials, including some who are seeking higher office. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is believed to be running for Mayor in 2013, while Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries will soon be announcing a campaign for Congress this year. And Councilwomen Inez Dickens and Melissa Mark-Viverito are both aspiring to be City Council Speaker in 2013.

The President's campaign selected its New York delegates from a list provided by the county and state Democratic parties, as well as Congressional Members. Not everyone backed by county leaders, even those serving in elected office, receive the ultimate delegate status, so the process can be reasonably competitive. Additionally, President Obama's campaign requires the final slate to meet diversity requirements, including an equal number of male and female delegates.

All of them will appear unopposed on the Democratic primary ballot later this year.

Read the full list below:

(Because it's organized numerically by Congressional District, the list starts in Suffolk County and makes its way West, entering New York City at the 5th C.D.)

CD1
Jonathan Schneider (M)
Vivian Viloria Fisher (F)
Mark Lesko (M)
Heather Reylek (F)
John Woods (M)
Barbara Strongin (F)
Mort Cogen (M)
Bridget Fleming (F)

CD2
Kimberly Jean-Pierre (F)
Jon Cooper (M)
Renee Ortiz (F)
James Gaughran (M)
June Smith (F)
Marcos Maldonado (M)
Janice Tinsley (F)
Phil Ramos (M)

CD3
Michael Florio (M)
Gemma Deleon (F)
Charles Lavine (M)
Linda Dunkel (F)
David Gugerty (M)
Eva Pearson (F)
Philip Nolan (M)
Gina Sillitti (F)

CD4
Dorothy Goosby (F)
Kevan Abrahams (M)
Earlene Hooper (F)
David Chauvin (M)
Lauren Summa (F)
Thomas Garry (M)
Andrena Wyatt (F)
Michael Reich (M)

CD5
Jonathan Kaiman (M)
Toby Ann Stavisky (F)
Matthew R. Silverstein (M)
Grace Meng (F)
Wayne Wink (M)
Judi Bosworth (F)
Evan M. Stavisky (M)

CD6
Jacqueline G. Boyce (F)
Taj Rajkumar (M)
Barbara M. Clark (F)
Archie Spigner (M)
Valerie L. West (F)
Ruben Wills (M)
Roslin Spigner (F)
Elmer H. Blackburne (M)

CD7
Michael R. Benedetto (M)
Veta I. Brome (F)
Hector Figueroa (M)
Helen M. Marshall (F)
Peter M. Rivera (M)
Kim Medina (F)
Tony Smolenski (M)
Julia Rodriguez (F)

CD8
Shelia Boyd (F)
Scott Stringer (M)
Deborah Gaffaney (F)
Alan Howard (M)
Li Jung Chan (F)
George Miranda (M)
Margaret Chin (F)
Thomas Duane (M)

CD9
Katie Watt (F)
Gil Cygler (M)
Karen Koslowitz (F)
Hersh K. Parekh (M)
Mary J. Plunkett (F)
Maksim Kats (M)
Maria Castaneda (F)

CD10
Olanike T. Alabi (F)
Henry Bolus (M)
Charlotte Hall (F)
Weyman Carey (M)
Karen Boykin-Towns (F)
Robert E. Cornegy II (M)
Denise Berkley (F)
Hakeem Jeffries (M)

CD11
Jesse Hamilton (M)
Sandra Schechter (F)
Cory Provost (M)
Lori Citron Knipel (F)
Christian B. Hylton  (M)
Rodneyse Bichotte (F)
G.L. Tyler (M)
Diane Green (F)

CD12
Deirdre Feerick (F)
Edward Rodriguez (M)
Diana Reyna (F)
Javier Bautista (M)
Danielle Johnson (F)
Andy Marte (M)
Jenny Lam Low (F)
Steve Cohn (M)

CD13
John Dunne (M)
Debi Rose (F)
Kevin Elkins (M)
Jessica Scarcella (F)
John P. Gulino (M)
Teresa Caliari Olya (F)
Jonathan Yedin (M)

CD14
Anne Marie Anzalone (F)
Costa G. Constantinides (M)
Monica Atiya (F)
Michael Corbett (M)
Barbara Pearl (F)
Micah Kellner (M)
Jessica Lappin (F)
Oliver Gray (M)

CD15
Adriano Espaillat (M)
Earnestine Bell Temple (F)
Daniel O'Donnell (M)
Paula Diamond (F)
Chet Whye (M)
Inez Dickens (F)
Brian Benjamin (M)
Melissa Mark Viverito (F)

CD16
Ischia Bravo (F)
Fernando L. Cabrera (M)
Helen D. Foster (F)
Jose M. Serrano (M)
Vanessa L. Gibson (F)
Wilbert Lawton (M)
Yudelka Tapia (F)
Nelson L. Castro (M)

CD17
Mario Cilento (M)
Harriet Cornell (F)
Jeffrey Dinowitz (M)
Ruth Hassell-Thompson (F)
Reginald LaFayette (M)
Mary Greathead (F)
Christopher St. Lawrence (M)
Kristen Stavisky (F)

CD18
Tajian Jones (F)
Bill Alexander (M)
Suzanne Berger (F)
Noam Bramson (M)
Barbara Gerrard (F)
Mark Lewis (M)
Florence McCue (F)
Kenneth Zebrowski (M)

CD19
Sean Eldridge (M)
Donna Marino (F)
William Oliphant (M)
Angela Valles (F)
James Skoufis (M)
Sonia Ayala (F)
Reinaldo Diaz (M)
Denise Bolds (F)

CD20
Suzy Ballantyne (F)
William Hughes, Jr. (M)
Kristen Dart (F)
Brian Kelly (M)
Amanda Boomhower (F)
Mark Whitney (M)
Melanie Whaley (F)

CD21
Clifford Hay (M)
Bethany Schuman-McGhee (F)
Thomas Wade (M)
Mary Sullivan (F)
Gustavo Santos (M)
Marion Porterfield (F)
Ronald E. Bailey (M)
Elizabeth Navran (F)

CD22
Lin Sakai (F)
Tony Fiala (M)
Irene Stein (F)
Jonathan Jacobson (M)
Shellye Schoonmaker (F)
Svante Myrick (M)
Dona Murray (F)
Daniel Torres (M)

CD23
Mark Bellardini (M)
Judy Prosser (F)
Edmund Jasewicz (M)
Jacquelyn A. Schell (F)
Michael Zagrokelny (M)
Colleen Wheaton (F)
Michael Cashman (M)

CD24
Mary Salotti (F)
Gary Koutnik (M)
Carly Abbott (F)
Ryan Reynolds (M)
Mary Orth (F)
Jim Bays (M)
Katherine W. Pumilio (F)

CD25
Andrew Maxwell (M)
Diane Dwire (F)
Craig Wilson (M)
Shannon O'Connor (F)
Ken Preston (M)
Corey Driscoll (F)
Edward O'Shea (M)
Angela Desantis (F)

CD26
Linda Berman (F)
Daniel Rivera (M)
Karen Lee-Byfield (F)
Dave Garrison (M)
Judith Hunter (F)
John M. Dukesbury (M)
Lorie Longhany (F)
Jeremy Bennett (M)

CD27
Gregory Raab (M)
Joyce Warthling (F)
Anthony Colucci, III (M)
Lucinda A. Ikins-Letro (F)
Erik Coler (M)
Cynthia Ahlstrom (F)
Darius G. Pridgen (M)
Cheryl Meyers-Buth (F)

CD28
Jeanne Crane (F)
Thaddeus Mack (M)
Melisza Campos (F)
Joseph Morelle (M)
Crystal Peoples (F)
George K. Arthur (M)
Rosalind Hampton (F)
David Gantt (M)

CD29
Shawn Hogan (M)
Rabia Aziz (F)
Jerry Seward (M)
Judy Baker (F)
Alex Yudelson (M)
Brittany Melfi (F)
Taylor Bold (M)
Susan Vandervoort (F)

A map of the election results: Romney is yellow, Paul is green. (Photo: Google)

Mitt Romney's strong win last night, scoring 39% overall and 16% more than the second place finisher, Ron Paul, naturally involved winning many different groups. According to CBS News' exit poll, Mr. Romney either won outright or placed a very close second to Mr. Paul across most demographic and ideological categories. The data also reveals that he performed strongest among those describing their views as "somewhat conservative" and the very rich.

Indeed, Mr. Romney, who's very wealthy himself, won more than half of those with families making more than $200,000 a year, one of his highest percentages in the entire exit poll. Among those making $50,000 or less, Mr. Romney only tied Mr. Paul, each earning less than a third of that financially modest vote.

Ideologically, Mr. Romney performed strongest among those describing themselves as "somewhat conservative," seeing his still-substantial support dip with voters who viewed themselves as either "moderate" or "very conservative." Jon Huntsman, who finished third and heavily campaigned in the state, did well with moderate voters while Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, who finished in fourth and fifth place respectively, overperformed with the more conservative ones.

The exit poll also suggests that Mr. Romney's win seems to be almost completely founded on one campaign message: electability. When asked to name which one issue was most important in deciding how they voted, more respondents selected "Can defeat Barack Obama" than anything else. More than 62% of this group supported Mr. Romney.

The next Republican presidential contest will be South Carolina on January 21, where at least one candidate, Rick Perry, appears to be making his last stand. Mr. Perry received less than 1% of the vote in New Hampshire last night.

Michele Bachmann (Photo: Facebook)

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann dropped her presidential campaign today after a disappointing sixth-place finish in last night's Iowa caucuses.

Her per performance last night, scoring a mere 5% of the Iowa caucus vote, is quite a different result than the Ames Straw Poll she won earlier last year. Although Ames had previously been seen as a tangible test of a candidate's strength and organization in the Hawkeye State, the final results differed substantially from the straw poll's findings. Governor Mitt Romney, who won Iowa's caucus vote last night, did not even actively participate in the straw poll.

Meanwhile, the last night's fifth place finisher, Texas Governor Rick Perry, vaguely tweeted his intentions to carry on for at least the next two primary state campaigns, despite sounding like he was considering dropping out himself last night.

Congresswoman Bachmann's exit, as well as possibly Governor Perry's if he does indeed abandon his presidential bid, is seen to benefit former Senator Rick Santorum, as they all occupy a more ideologically pure brand of conservatism and may have been taking votes away from one another much more so than Mr. Romney.

Mitt Romney (Photo: Wikimedia)

The Republican competition to see who will finally face off against Barack Obama experienced a notable development tonight when Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won the Iowa caucus by the narrowest of margins over former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

Iowa's Republican Chairman made the announcement shortly after 2:30 am EST that Mr. Romney managed to finish with a mere 8 vote lead over Mr. Santorum, resulting in what is certainly the closest Iowa caucus vote count in memory. Although Mr. Romney's ultimate victory is impressive, the results are particularly remarkable for Mr. Santorum, who was polling near last place while running a shoestring campaign for all of the past year.

While the two front-runners were roughly tied at 25% of the vote, Congressman Paul also made a respectable showing by coming in third with about 21%. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Governor Rick Perry did not perform nearly as well, bringing in approximately 13% and 10% respectively. From his concession speech, Governor Perry appeared to be considering dropping out of the race completely.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is probably most disappointed with her results tonight, achieving only 5% of the vote.

The next state to weigh in on the Republican presidential primary will be New Hampshire on January 10th, where Mr. Romney has steadily polled ahead of his political rivals. Unlike Iowa, which collects votes with a relatively complicated caucus system, New Hampshire employs the traditional ballot, which creates a different electoral dynamic.

Google's current election map for Iowa

There are still two possible Republican presidential candidates who could emerge victorious in tonight's Iowa caucuses: former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

While it's still unclear who the eventual winner will be, the two candidates are running neck and neck with 25% of the vote each, it is abundantly clear who the winners aren't.

NBC just projected that Congressman Ron Paul will finish in a strong third place, while the rest of the networks are projecting that Former Speaker Newt Gingrich will finish in fourth, Texas Governor Rick Perry in fifth place, and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann bringing up the rear in sixth. (Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who did not choose to compete in the caucuses, will be finishing in 7th place.)

Overall, turnout is projected to be  lower than in 2008.

Google's Politics & Elections site is a good place to track minute-by-minute election results as they happen.

Google's new election center seems to be the place to follow tonight's Republican presidential caucus in Iowa as close to real-time as possible, and to track future 2012 elections going forward as well.

The colorful map should make it easy to break down the votes even after they've been counted as well.

What follows is an edited transcript:

NYO: It seems like there is right wing tea party resurgence over the last couple of years. Where do you think that comes from? How did you decide to become a part of it?

TRUMP: The Tea Party has been backing me. And as you see I am at the head of every poll. You saw The Public Policy one, I guess, that one.  The last poll, Public Policy had me at 26 percent and Huckabee at 17 Romany at 15. And then you had the last one, the Gallup poll which had myself and Huckabee leading. But the Tea Party polls I am leading everybody.

NYO: Why do you think the country has been reception to the Tea Party message and how did you come to see yourself as leading that message?

TRUMP: The Tea Party are people that are very proud to be Americans. I think they are very proud of this country and they hate seeing what is happening to this country. And I think they view me as a person who not let Saudi Arabia and the OPEC nations rip us off...will not let China rip us off, which is what they are doing, China is just ripping us. I think the Tea Party views me as somebody that will stop that from happening. And I think that's why they like me. We had a rally, you probably heard, in Florida, I spoke before the Tea Party last week in Ft. Lauderdale and 250 people were expected and when they announced I was speaking 6,000 people showed up. And they had to move it to a big public park in Boca Raton. And tomorrow I am making a speech, to really to republicans not just tea party in New Hampshire, you probably heard about that. And in New Hampshire they had 500 tickets sold out in the first hour. That's never happened before. And thousands of people are wanting to get in so there is going to be a big deal going on. People are scalping tickets. That's never happened before. So there is something going on, as you've probably noticed.

NYO: It seems like the Tea Party really dislikes the President. Are you the guy that has given voice to that dislike?

TRUMP: They really dislike the president but I really think it's not so much the president-they dislike the job he siding .He is close to incompetent

NYO: Close?

TRUMP: Yea, I'll say close, because I want to be nice. Look at what he is doing in Libya which is a mess, or the gasoline prices which absolutely he can control and he said yesterday that the President has very little power what happens with gas. Well I disagree with that, because he's got power over OPEC if he chose to use it. They are only there because of us. So you know the Tea Party views me as being very different than other people

NYO: There are a couple of draft movements. Are you monitoring them? What kind of metrics do they need to clear in order for you to get into the race?

TRUMP: The support I have had has been tremendous. There are a lot of independent parties that want me to run as an independent. The problem with that is that if I do that that would insure that Obama wins the election, so I am very hesitant to want to do that. But there are a lot of independent party representatives that want me to do it as an independent. And I poll very very strongly there. The problem is most of those votes will come out of the Republican Party so it's a very dangerous thing to do, because the last thing we need is for Obama to come in for another four years

NYO: But are you monitoring the draft movements? What do they need to show you?

TRUMP: I am. I am honored by them actually. But I am equally honored by the polls. You know the polls are showing me something very special I believe in polls. I studied polls a little bit at the Wharton School of Finance, meaning I took a semester of polling. And it's a pretty great science. Every poll has me leading or tied to for lead. That is very much an honor...If and when I announce some time prior to June I think the polls will go up very substantially.

NYO: How do you win the nomination?

TRUMP: If I do well in Iowa, if I do well in New Hampshire, if I do well in South Carolina and a couple of other places all of a sudden you've got yourself, you know, a presidential candidate

NYO: What do you feel like voters are looking for in a President, in a nominee?

TRUMP: I think they are looking to somebody that will stop the world from ripping us off. The world is ripping us off to the point where we are a laughing stock. The World is taking advantage of the United States and its stupidity in terms of its leadership. And I think they are looking for somebody who will really stop the world from ripping us off and they view me as the guy who can do that. And I agree with them.

NYO: You are somebody who doesn't come out of the political class. Will you be given a longer leash for past indiscretions?

TRUMP: I think I am given a shorter leash. I think that the establishment hates the fact that I am leading in the polls. The establishment doesn't understand how a non-politician could be winning. The writers have become friends with all of these politicians over the years. They know them, they dine with them, they develop friendships with them over the years, which is typical and now all of a sudden a party comes in who is leading everything and they don't know him and they don't really, you know, I think they are tougher on me then they are on everybody else.

NYO: But you have had a more checkered background than most presidential candidates?

TRUMP: In what way?

NYO: Well, the multiple marriages, for example. Newt Gingrich has had a few marriages and he gets raked over the coals for it. Is there a different standard for you, perhaps?

TRUMP: No. I do think that on social issues, they played a much bigger role ten years ago then they do now. Now I think they really want somebody who is super competent, that is a great businessperson, that knows what is going on. You have to understand. People say I haven't been in politics. I have been in politics all my life. All you have to do is read your paper. I've been supporting people all my life, I've been dealing with foreign countries for the last 20 years. I've been supporting politicians from the time I came out of the Wharton School of Finance and even before that. So I know everybody. It's not like I am not experience in this. I am probably more experienced in politics then most politicians. And some people understand that. I was actually called by a big senator yesterday and he was laughing because some writer said, "Oh Trump doesn't have experience in politics and he said, You are more experienced than we are. And I agree with him."...So are you surprised by what's happened? This big surge? As David Gregory said on Meet the Press, it's one of the great phenomenon we've seen for a while.

NYO: A lot of people have been dismissing it.

TRUMP: They are not dismissing it now

NYO: Did that inspire you to take it more seriously?

TRUMP: I didn't understand why they were dismissing it because I'm one of the highest paid speakers in the world. I have a show that is one of the most successful shows on television and the number one show on NBC....and I've made billions of dollars and put tens of thousands of people to work and I didn't understand how did they dismiss somebody like that. Never made sense to me. Now they are starting to say, 'Oh I guess we shouldn't have.'

NYO: But has all of that made you want to do it more?

TRUMP: Well, I think the poll results are very gratifying. When you see you are leading every poll those results are very gratifying to be honest with you. Lets say I'm doing everything I am doing now and I was (names a presidential contender) who had zero. Zero or (names another) who had two, who was at two points instead of 26 points. I'd say well I guess it's not working and I wouldn't be wasting much time. You know, it's a little like a Broadway play. It either works or it doesn't work. You know they have Broadway plays they know on opening night whether or not that's going to be a success. Very rarely does a Broadway play open poorly and become successful over a period of time. It's either a hit or its not a hit this is not so much different. You can go up or you can go down but there are some people (names another candidate) is not going to work, and some of these other people that are running, just not going to work You can tell very early on. Keep those names off the record because I've got enough enemies. But a Broadway play opens and people say, we have a smash. That's what happened with me

NYO: If you don't run, will you continue to speak out on these issues?

TRUMP: No, maybe not. Then I go back to my business and let these people do the best they can, but I don't see anybody out there that is going to save this country