Palin's Endorsements Lay Base for a 2012 Run

At NYT:

If Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, decides to run for president in 2012, she will now have plenty of help.

In New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary in the nation, Ms. Palin can count on the support of its newly elected senator, Kelly Ayotte.

When the presidential campaign moves to South Carolina, the state’s new governor, Nikki Haley, will owe her one.

And out West, Susana Martinez, who will take office as New Mexico’s governor, will be ready to help during a potential general election matchup with President Obama as the two parties battle over the growing number of Hispanic voters in the Southwest.

Ms. Palin was not on any ballot. But the self-described “Mama Grizzly” had plenty at stake on Tuesday night as she sought to bolster her credentials as the Republican Party’s most powerful kingmaker and the voice of the newly empowered Tea Party movement.

Ms. Palin had endorsed dozens of candidates, including ones in some of the highest-profile races.

The result was a mixed record that included some spectacular losses — the Delaware and Nevada Senate races — but plenty of victories that Ms. Palin and her allies have already begun to point to as evidence of her political prowess and her ability to shape and direct the unwieldy frustration that is fueling American politics.

For Ms. Palin and a handful of other Republicans, Wednesday was not only a time to savor victory, but also a time to begin laying the groundwork for a bid to capture their party’s presidential nomination.

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