Fox News has learned that Mitt Romney will address the Republican National Committee meeting of State Party Chairmen this Friday in Phoenix, stake his claim to the GOP presidential nomination and call upon party leaders to unite.

The meeting will be attended by more than 40 of the RNC’s 50 state GOP chairmen, along with 200 additional GOP officials, activists and political professionals as they gear up for the fall campaign to oust President Obama.

Though Romney has had a major fundraiser planned for Friday in Phoenix for some time, his appearance at the RNC meeting was only finalized on Monday.

Romney is expected to assume the role of titular head of the GOP as the all-but-certain presidential nominee.

Romney will give his marching orders to the state GOP chairmen and spur them to the shared cause of retaking the White House.

State Party Chairmen are crucial links to each states’ grass roots -- Romney’s success or failure depends greatly on their help.

Also in Phoenix, the RNC plans to propose reforms to this years’ primary process by defining “proportional allocation" of delegates for 2016.

It’s a big deal -- there was no such definition for 2012, and states allocated delegates in varied and confusing ways. (read more)

Sources close to the Gingrich campaign say preliminary "what-if" conversations are underway that could lead to a Gingrich-Perry ticket being announced prior to the  Republican National Convention at the end of August.

Gingrich insiders hope forming a predetermined ticket with Perry will unite the evangelical, Tea Party and very conservative voters that make up the core of the GOP.

As discussions got underway, a spokesman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry released a statement saying, "Gov. Perry thinks Newt Gingrich is the strongest conservative to debate and defeat President Obama and truly overhaul Washington. The speculation is humbling but premature."

Floating Perry as a runningmate two days before Alabama and Mississippi could energize conservatives or turn them off.

A senior aide to Rick Santorum called it a desperate hail mary to create buzz ahead of contests in Alabama and Mississippi Tuesday. (read more)

The Michigan GOP has allotted both of the state's popular vote delegates to Mitt Romney. Romney and Rick Santorum each won 7 congressional districts for a total of 14 delegates each. With the additional two for the popular vote the Michigan delegate count is 16-14, with Romney taking the majority.

The Santorum camp had held a conference call on Wednesday telling reporters that the delegate count would end up a 15-15 split and is now outraged at the news.

"There's just no way this is happening. We've all heard rumors that Mitt Romney was furious that he spent a fortune in his home state, had all the establishment political connections and could only tie Rick Santorum," said Hogan Gidley of the Santorum campaign. "But we never thought the Romney campaign would try to rig the outcome of an election by changing therules after the vote. This kind of back room dealing political thug-ery just doesn't happen in America - what an outrage."

Michigan Republican party officials maintain that in February during their state committee meeting they unanimously passed procedures for allocating Michigan's delegates to the National Convention. (read more)

As part of a broad effort to rebound after the Florida primary, Newt Gingrich's campaign has appointed a new chief of staff-- Patrick Millsaps.

Millsaps is a prominent lawyer from Newt's home state of Georgia. He joined the campaign the week before the Iowa caucuses and until this move was serving as the deputy general counsel.

Millsaps made the transition during the last day or so of the Florida campaign. He is a partner at Hall Booth Smith & Plover.

His new title isn't a shake-up. It's part of the campaign's efforts to beef back up staffing and campaign structure post-Iowa. Newt 2012 is still very much run by the candidate, but Gingrich has broadened his cadre of advisers. In addition to making sure the trains run on time, Millsaps will help with messaging as the race expands to multiple states. His promotion comes as the campaign prepares to challenge Florida's "winner-take-all" delegate allocation - so far, the state's 50 delegates were awarded to Mitt Romney. (read more)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Florida's primary might not be over just yet.

The Newt Gingrich campaign is gearing up to challenge the results of the Florida Republican presidential primary based on the Republican National Committee's own rules which state that no contest can be winner-take-all prior to April 1, 2012. (See RNC memo.)

It was assumed that Mitt Romney, who won Tuesday's contest, would gain all 50 of the state's delegates. But the Gingrich campaign plans to challenge Florida's allocation and demand the delegates be divvied up proportionally. (See Gingrich memo.)

Fox News has learned exclusively that on Thursday, a Florida Gingrich campaign official will begin the process of trying to have the RNC rules enforced so that the Sunshine State delegates are distributed based on the percentage of the vote each candidate got. (read more)

With Florida behind them, the GOP presidential candidates head into another round of contests in February.

First up is Nevada, which holds its caucus this Saturday, February 4. Mitt Romney may be able to continue his momentum from his Florida win into frontrunner status in the state, which has a strong Mormon voting bloc. Also on Romney's side is the fact he won the state during his 2008 presidential campaign.  

However, Ron Paul's campaign says he also has a strong presence in Nevada, as well as support among LDS voters. Romney aides reportedly consider Paul to be a contender in the state. 

Maine also begins its week-long caucus Saturday, which concludes on February 11. Romney may also gain front-runner status in this race, as he is the only native New Englander campaigning. He also won the primary in nearby New Hampshire.

Colorado holds its caucus on February 7. This swing state has been eyed by some of the hopefuls as a place to gain an edge. Rick Santorum in particular has focused on Colorado recently, releasing a scathing attack ad against Gingrich in the state Tuesday. He has also gained the support of Focus on the Family leader James Dobson in Colorado Springs. Romney reportedly considers the Colorado vote crucial in the general election against President Obama. (read more)

The audience did not have a role in the debate tonight in Florida, and it subdued things.

There were no standing ovations for Newt Gingrich or loud outbursts, as there have been in recent consequential and boisterous GOP candidate debates in other states.

A toned-down Gingrich assumed the role of frontrunner, and tried to play above the fray. However, his counter-punching and jabs still scored.

On the other hand, Romney brawled. Since losing to Gingrich in SC Romney has been rehearsing the Freddie Mac attack against his rival.

When Gingrich released his Freddie Mac consulting contract, which does not mention lobbying, Romney was ready to point out that he was contracted to the public policy division, which is Freddie Mac's lobbying arm. He added that Gingrich had been hired by the chief lobbyist.

Romney was still stiff and awkward discussing his tax returns. Aides say in 2010 Romney reported income of $21.7 million and has an estimated 2011 income of $20.9 million mostly from investment profits, interest and dividends.

Romney's comments about "self-deportation" for undocumented immigrants will have him explaining himself for awhile. Hs position is actually very similar to that of the House GOP, which is sometimes referred to as "attrition though law enforcement." This mean when authorities encounter illegal immigrants, a legal process to deport them ensues. (read more)

The audience did not have a role in the debate tonight in Florida, and it subdued things.

There were no standing ovations for Newt Gingrich or loud outbursts, as there have been in recent consequential and boisterous GOP candidate debates in other states.

A toned-down Gingrich assumed the role of frontrunner, and tried to play above the fray. However, his counter-punching and jabs still scored.

On the other hand, Romney brawled. Since losing to Gingrich in SC Romney has been rehearsing the Freddie Mac attack against his rival.

When Gingrich released his Freddie Mac consulting contract, which does not mention lobbying, Romney was ready to point out that he was contracted to the public policy division, which is Freddie Mac's lobbying arm. He added that Gingrich had been hired by the chief lobbyist.

Romney was still stiff and awkward discussing his tax returns. Aides say in 2010 Romney reported income of $21.7 million and has an estimated 2011 income of $20.9 million mostly from investment profits, interest and dividends.

Romney's comments about "self-deportation" for undocumented immigrants will have him explaining himself for awhile. Hs position is actually very similar to that of the House GOP, which is sometimes referred to as "attrition though law enforcement." This mean when authorities encounter illegal immigrants, a legal process to deport them ensues. (read more)

Dixville Notch, NH -- For the last 50 years, the residents of this tiny community in the North Country have voted at midnight to be the first of the first in the nation primary voters. Nine registered voters cast ballots at the Balsams Resort Tuesday morning.

Chief Political Correspondent Carl Cameron's video blog is after the jump:

Texas Governor Rick Perry is formally unveiling his flat tax proposal Tuesday in South Carolina. His campaign hopes the plan will gain traction with people who are fed up with the current tax system.

Sources tell Fox News it will be an optional 20% flat income tax with a $12,500.00 deduction per individual, per household. Taxpayers may otherwise choose to keep paying under existing IRS code.

The Texas governor hopes to one-up Cain's 9-9-9 plan, which some tax hawks and Tea Partiers have criticized for creating a new sales tax.

The roll out comes on the heels of Steve Forbes' announcement he's endorsing Perry; Forbes championed the idea of a flat tax when he ran for president in 2000 and advised Perry on this new proposal.