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Republican-leaning states will gain at least a half dozen House seats thanks to the 2010 census, which found the nations population growing more slowly than in past decades but still shifting to the South and West.

The Census Bureau announced Tuesday that the nation’s population on April 1 was 308,745,538, up from 281.4 million a decade ago. The growth rate for the past decade was 9.7 percent, the lowest since the Great Depression. The nation’s population grew by 13.2 percent from 1990 to 2000.

Michigan was the only state to lose population during the past decade. Nevada, with a 35 percent increase, was the fastest-growing state.

The new numbers are a boon for Republicans, with Texas leading the way among GOP-leaning states that will gain House seats, mostly at the Rust Belts expense. Following each once-a-decade census, the nation must reapportion the House’s 435 districts to make them roughly equal in population, with each state getting at least one seat.

That triggers an often contentious and partisan process in many states, which will draw new congressional district lines that can help or hurt either party.

In all, the census figures show a shift affecting 18 states taking effect when the 113th Congress takes office in 2013.

Texas will gain four new House seats, and Florida will gain two. Gaining one each are Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington.

Now, we have some additional polling/party identification information which should also give us a clue as to the identity of 2012 Presidential KEY battleground states:

Watching the party identification polling will give us the trend toward or away from the incumbent Democratic President. Remembering Obama/Biden won 365 electoral votes Vs. McCain/Palin 173.

Looking at the states that lost Electoral Votes:

And, the states that gained Electoral Votes:

Edge EHR Corp., EDGE, a provider of Dental  Practice Management solutions for the Mac OS®, is pleased to announce the release of edgeDMS™ for iPad® for Dentists and Dental offices looking to leverage the awesome power of the Apple® iPad.

The launch of edgeDMS for iPad sets a new standard for dental practice management with the most elegant and intuitive dental charting solution available today.  The edgeDMS Perio chart quickly captures pocket & recession depths, tooth mobility, and furcation values with a few taps.  Extracted, impacted, and erupted states are recorded with a swipe.  “Native is best!  Competitors using VNC (Virtual Network Computing) or browser based applications to bring iPad functionality to the practice just don’t understand the power of the Apple iPad’s iOS touch capabilities,” said Edge CEO, Troy Spracklin, referring to the multi-touch workflows available in edgeDMS for iPad. 

Dental professionals can quickly search for patient records, access patient histories and chart new exams with a series of taps and swipes on the their iPad.  “It’s iPad easy!  Tap a patient, review the history and chart a new exam with your fingertip — no more pencils,” said Spracklin.

“I’ve been an edgeDMS user in my dental practice for several years. It has worked seamlessly for my needs, and with the introduction of version 2.5 with an iPad App I couldn’t be more excited to perform routine evaluations and updates on my periodontal patients. Edge has created a new gold standard in all dental management software, let alone Mac based systems. Edge with iPad will be working to enhance my periodontal practice in expected Apple style,” says existing edgeDMS user, Dr. Stephen Chermol, DMD, PC from West Chester, PA.

Exam details including observations, etiology, diagnosis and patient recommendations are also quickly recorded on each patient visit using the iPad with or without a bluetooth keyboard. In addition, edgeDMS for iPad also features an integrated picture and digital X-ray browser allowing providers to add, review and share intra-oral images, photos and digital x-rays with their patients at chair-side.  edgeDMS running on a Mac desktop makes it simple to view any patient record in the office or on the go through a secure VPN tunnel for providers seeking mobile empowerment  where no patient data resides on the iPad device.  Add in iPad’s remote data wipe features and security is covered.

The future is today and should further reduce the costs of record keeping and managment.

When PPP first polled Florida Republicans in March about who they wanted as their 2012 nominee 52% of them picked Mitt Romney when given the choices of him, Mike Huckabee (who got 21%), and Sarah Palin (who received 18%).

When PPP next asked Florida Republicans about 2012 in July Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul’s names were added into the mix and although Romney maintained the lead it wasn’t nearly as strong. He was at 31%, followed by Palin and Gingrich at 23%, Huckabee at 15%, and Paul at 6%.

When PPP asked about it in late October even more names were in the pool and Romney’s support declined even further. He was down to 28% with Palin at 22%, Huckabee and Gingrich at 15%, and a variety of other Republicans combining for 8%.

Now Romney’s lead in Florida is completely gone. The poll we did last week found him at only 21%, behind Huckabee’s 23%, with Gingrich at 18%, Palin at 13%, and others combining for a total of 15%.

Why? Mitt Romney is no longer the conservative alternative to Sarah Palin. With Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich in the race, Mitt comes off as the least conservative of the three.

In North Carolina, Romney does not come off very well either.

In North Carolina we see a good old log jam with Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin tied at 21%, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney tied at 18%, and the rest of the Republicans combining for 12%. This is another state where Romney’s conservative problem rears its head. He has a strong advantage with moderates as 30% of them say he’s their top choice with none of the other Republicans rising above 15%. But he posts yet another fourth place finish with conservatives at only 14%, with Palin at 24%, Gingrich at 22%, and Huckabee at only 19%.

Mitt Romney certainly will run for President in 2012. But, besides his popularity in New Hampshire he will fade when the South Carolina and Florida primary elections are held.

It could very well be Mike Huckabee’s and/or Newt Gingrich’s year unless Mitch Daniels or John Thune can catch fire.