With the Republican primaries looming in the near future, Washington University students from all over the political spectrum are weighing in on who will earn the GOP nomination and what the future of the Republican Party will be in the 2012 presidential election.

The candidates competing for the Republican nominations include Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Gary E. Johnson, Buddy Roemer, Fred Karger and Rick Santorum.

“Gingrich is polling well right now, but I think Romney will be the ultimate winner,” College Republican President Jun Yoon said. “I prefer Romney because I think he will poll better with independent and moderate [voters] than Gingrich. It’s what is the most crucial in the general election.”

Yoon believes the Republican Party has a good chance of winning the 2012 election.

“I think the GOP is doing good. Researches have shown that economic conditions are the most important indicator for elections, and the voters are dissatisfied with Obama’s policies, and the economy is only going to get worse due to the Euro crisis,” he said.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, Gingrich is leading with 33 percent of voter support and Romney is coming in second with 23 percent. Ron Paul is currently trailing in third with 9 percent of support.

“I think that Mitt Romney is going to win the primary. Once we know who wins the primary, then we can tell what the GOP’s chances are of winning,” senior Joel Yambert said. “[Romney] has less negative backlash in media and social media than the other candidates.”

Yambert believes that the better image will benefit Romney in the long run.

“He is sometimes wishy-washy, but I agree with most of his stances,” he said. “On social issues he is pro-life and I am pro-life.”

However, there are also students who are less optimistic of the GOP’s chances in the upcoming election.

“I am not very hopeful for a good candidate to emerge from the primary to confront the Dems in 2012,” former College Democrats president junior Sherveen Mashayekhi said. “But I think Mitt Romney will win the nomination.”

Nearly everyone agrees that Romney will win the nomination.

“I think Newt Gingrich is going to win the primary in the Iowa caucus, and Mitt Romney is going to win the Republican nomination,” sophomore Jake Lyonfields said.

Lyonfields is critical of the way the Republican candidates have been running their campaigns.

“They have all said enough ridiculous or terrible things so none would be electable, especially their positions on social issues are out of the line with what the majority of Americans believe,” he said.

According to Leigha Empson, president of the College Democrats, the outcomes of the primaries and the general election are still up in the air.

“I think it’s hard to tell who would win the primary right now with all the recent changes. I think Romney would do better in the general election, but Gingrich has a big surge in recent polls, so he would be getting more campaign contributions…It’s too early to tell right now,” Empson said. “I don’t think any of the candidates stand any chance besides Romney. It depends on who wins the Republican nomination.”

Empson also believes that external factors beyond the candidates themselves will influence the GOP’s chance of success in the election.

“There are still a lot of variables, like the Supreme Court’s decision on health care, that would affect Obama’s campaign,” she said.

The Iowa caucuses will take place on Jan. 3, followed by primaries in January in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.