Election 2012

A top foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended statements the Republican presidential candidate made in Israel about the cultural differences between Israelis and Palestinians.

President Obama campaigns is campaigning in Ohio, Florida and Virginia. While Ohio and Florida are perennial battlegrounds, Virginia has emerged as one of this year's most important contests. Volunteers backing President Obama fanned out across the state over the weekend, looking to line up support.

President Obama campaigned in Ohio on Wednesday. He ripped into the tax proposals of his Republican rival Mitt Romney and said they would tax lower income people to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. Ari Shapiro talks to Audie Cornish.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

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And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Mitt Romney has finished an overseas tour that generated bad headlines at every stop. Now the question is whether a stream of awkward moments will influence voters. Here's NPR's Ari Shapiro.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: Before Mitt Romney took off last week, Robert Danin of the Council on Foreign Relations described the reasons for and the potential risks of a trip like this.

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The Tea Party got a big win yesterday in Texas. Its candidate for a U.S. Senate race won the Republican primary. Ted Cruz is the former state's solicitor general. He defeated the lieutenant governor who was backed by the governor, Rick Perry.

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Ted Cruz received millions of dollars in backing from national conservative groups. And now he is the Republican nominee and heavy favorite to win this fall, a Canadian-born Texan with Cuban ancestry. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.