Every Monday, The Takeaway looks at the big news stories from the week ahead. Republican presidential candidates head to Colorado, Minnesota and Maine this week; Colorado and Minnesota's caucuses are tomorrow. In Washington, President Obama holds talks on the European debt crisis with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti while Congress takes up the STOCK Act.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won a decisive victory in yesterday’s Florida primary, dealing a major setback to Newt Gingrich’s hopes of a fully-realized insurgent candidacy. With decided forward momentum, it's clear that Romney has recovered from the miscalled Iowa caucus victory and is now leading the GOP pack: Romney won with 46 percent of the vote as compared to Gingrich’s 32 percent. Meanwhile, former Iowa frontrunners Rick Santorum came in third with 13 percent, and Ron Paul only carried seven percent of the vote.

What happens in the Florida Primary is not just important to Florida, Romney, Gingrich and the gang. This is a campaign year for everyone in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. And while Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is in a safe seat in his own district he's leading the charge to get more GOP members into the House and Senate.

Last night the University of South Florida hosted a GOP presidential debate, the first of two scheduled in Florida leading up to the state's January 31 primary. The crowd was silenced by a no-applause policy which seems to have muted the effect of Newt Gingrich, who in the past has received accolades from the audience after partisan broadsides. The debate sets the agenda for the next week as candidates prepare for a primary which may ultimately decide the nominee to challenge President Obama in November.

This week, President Obama delivers the State of the Union, then travels to five states that promise to be key battlegrounds for this year's election: Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan. As the President begins his swing state tour, Republican candidates will be setting up camp in Florida, preparing for two debates in the next primary state.

After the Iowa caucuses, a group of high-profile conservatives sent out invitations to evangelical leaders for a gathering at the Texas ranch of Paul and Nancy Pressler on January 14 and 15. The summit's purpose is to discuss which GOP candidates they will and will not be supporting in 2012. Evangelicals have been the most significant segment of the Republican base since 1992, so whoever is chosen this weekend could nail the nomination — assuming that there is a candidate they feel represents their values. Despite winning New Hampshire and Iowa, Romney could be blocked due to his Mormonism and weak social conservatism.

Despite focusing all of his campaign's attention on New Hampshire instead of Iowa, former U.S. ambassador to China John Huntsman came in third in Tuesday's primary. Independent favorite Ron Paul took second place with 23 percent of the vote while Iowa caucus victor Mitt Romney won a comfortable lead at 39 percent. Todd Zwillich, Takeaway Washington correspondent and Anna Sale, reporter for It’s a Free Country, the politics website for our co-producer WNYC, give their thoughts on what these results mean for the rest of the GOP race.

After only one year in the job, Bill Daley, President Obama's chief of staff, is stepping down. Current budget director Jacob Lew will assume this post. Daley, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive and U.S. Commerce secretary, had publicly announced his frustration with Beltway politics and intentions to leave in October of last year.

There were two debates over the weekend: the ABC/Yahoo debate Saturday night, and the "Meet the Press" debate on Sunday morning. Whether any particular candidate's performance will reinvigorate their campaign or guarantee them solid lead in Tuesday's primary remains uncertain. But during both debates, it became clear that Iowa caucus victor Mitt Romney was a target.

On Wednesday, President Obama delivered his economic address for 2012 in Ohio. He spoke about the payroll tax cut, plans for dealing with predatory lending, and officially announcing his appointment of Richard Cordray to head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But where do the current Republican candidates stand on personal income taxes, health care costs, Medicare, Social Security, and jobs?

The first caucus results are in, heralding the official start of the long slog toward November's big election. Although politicians always bill the election they are involved in as being a critical moment for the nation, this time it is true. At issue in the next election will be what role the federal government plays in the lives of individual Americans. President Obama and the GOP candidates have outlined starkly different views of the social contract in the United States. The potential to shape economic growth, tax policy for the government and common person, and how wealth is distributed will shape fiscal policy for the next decade.

Responding to near-universal condemnation from the White House, The Wall Street Journal op-ed page, and senior members of their own party, the House GOP agreed Thursday to accept a temporary extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits the Senate approved last Saturday. House Republicans rejected an almost identical proposal on Tuesday. The stunning about face came after members of their own party criticized the House GOP for handing a political victory to President Obama. The deal will keep the payroll tax at 4.2 percent and expands the holiday to small businesses that have temporary caps on wages.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have rejected a deal that would have extended the payroll tax holiday and extended unemployment benefits for millions of Americans. Not passing the bill, which enjoyed overwhelming support from both parties in the Senate and the White House, will cause payroll taxes to go up by about $20 per paycheck for tens of millions of Americans. More than three million people stand to lose their unemployment benefits. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has called on the Senate, which adjourned Saturday, to return to negotiations, though Democrats are refusing to return to negotiations.

Just a day after an extension of the payroll tax cut passed the Senate by an overwhelming margin, Speaker John Boehner announced that he would not bring the bill to the House floor for a vote immediately. Instead, Boehner says Congress should pass a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut rather than the two-month extension agreed upon by the Senate. The House GOP is expected to vote the bill down Tuesday.

The death of Kim Jong-il and the future of both North and South Korea will dominate the headlines this week. Also, Republicans and Democrats are about to have another showdown over a deal to extend payroll tax cuts. Charlie Herman, business and economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, and Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich discuss the major stories for the week ahead.

Republican presidential candidates held their final debate last night in Sioux City just weeks before the Iowa caucus takes place on January 3. In the Fox News debate candidates attempted to draw distinctions from one another and defend their record to conservative voters. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows Newt Gingrich gaining ground on consistent front runner Mitt Romney. But some voters are still undecided.

The House of Representatives passed a bill extending payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits Tuesday night, despite a warning by The White House that the bill would be vetoed for a provision that forces work on the Keystone XL pipeline. Construction of the pipeline, which is opposed by environmentalists, was delayed by the State Department until after the 2012 elections. President Obama, who has advocated both measures in recent weeks, vowed to veto any bill that was attached to other measures. Majority Leader Harry Reid declared the bill "dead on arrival" in the Senate.

The White House and Congressional Republicans are moving toward yet another high-stakes standoff, this time over a proposed extension of the payroll tax holiday and an oil pipeline. Republicans have proposed a plan to continue the payroll tax cut, which the president has advocated, with legislation that would force approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Approval of the pipeline, which would stretch from Canada to Texas, was postponed by the State Department because of environmental concerns. President Obama has previously vowed not to pass any payroll tax plan that was attached to other legislation.

Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich looks at two major stories playing out inside the halls of Congress this week. The White House is attempting to push recalcitrant Senate Republicans to confirm former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Forty-five Senate Republicans signed a letter in May vowing to block any nominee unless Congress was given more oversight of the bureau. Zwillich also spent time on Capitol hill talking to lawmakers about GOP frontrunner Newt Gingrich. 

Herman Cain has suspended — but not completely disbanded — his presidential campaign. Whether he will endorse another candidate or continue fundraising and rejoin the race at some later point remains to be seen. For now, Newt Gingerich holds a majority in Iowa's early polls. But Mitt Romney is leading in New Hampshire and has strong numbers in South Carolina.