From his perches on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the International Freedom Caucus and as co-chairman of the House Hellenic Caucus, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis issued a statement on Thursday after the House unanimously passed a measure urging Turkey to respect Christian sites and return confiscated church property.

Pointing to a report earlier in the year from the Federation for American Reform, Florida state Senate hopeful Ron Rushing, who has filed to run against Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, in the Republican primary, called for major immigration reform in the Sunshine State. The FAIR report found that 950,000 illegal aliens are costing taxpayers almost $5.5 billion.

How far has Texas Gov. Rick Perry fallen in the Republican presidential race?

A Suffolk University/7NEWS (WHDH TV) poll of likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters released late on Wednesday found that Perry was running dead last in ninth place with 1 percent.

On Thursday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney slammed former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, his chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination, issuing a statement attacking the former congressional leader on a number of fronts.

With less than three weeks to go until the Iowa caucus, Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann unveiled a major endorsement in the Hawkeye State on Wednesday when state Sen. Merlin Bartz, R-Grafton, announced he is backing her bid.

Merlin Bartz has been a strong voice on the front lines to defend traditional marriage and family values, Bachmann said in a statement. He is a rock-solid conservative and Im proud to have him standing up for our cause when it matters most -- in these crucial weeks leading up to the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, now in a crowded Republican primary looking to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, said on Wednesday that Senate Democrats remain a major obstacle to passing a federal balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas scoreda major endorsement in New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary on Jan. 10. On Wednesday, state Sen. Ray White, R-Bedford, announced that he is backing Paul.

Unlike the other candidates, Ron Paul has been singing the same tune for years -- going back to his first term in Congress, said White in a statement. He has understood and tried to warn us for decades about the economic crisis we now face, and he is the only candidate who understands the gravity of the situation.

Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota offered a statement regarding Palestinian membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization -- and she took aim at President Barack Obama.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas won the Republican Party of Pasco Countys presidential straw poll, though Bill Bunting with the county GOP insists that Pauls backers included supporters from out of county.

Tea party favorite Christine ODonnell, who ran for the U.S. Senate in Delaware, announced that she is backing former Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

Christine has been a leader in the conservative movement for many years, said Romney in a statement. Christine recognizes that excessive government threatens us now and threatens future generations, and I am pleased to have her on my team.