Wikipedia and the Republican primary: How the candidates' pages changed during the nomination fight

— -- Search for the name of any politician—or almost anything else for that matter—and odds are one of the top results will be from Wikipedia. The mammoth user-generated online encyclopedia includes extensive biographies of the candidates for the Republican nomination. Millions of Americans use Wikipedia as their primary source of information about politicians, and in most respects the site provides a very thorough and accurate profile of their lives and careers.

Wikipedia preserves every version of an article ever published, so it's possible to watch the evolution of a page over time. While each of the candidates running for the Republican nomination were well known before the primary began, Wikipedia editors finessed the biographies and quarreled over the candidates' records as the nomination contest progressed.

Now that Rick Santorum has dropped his bid, clearing the way for Mitt Romney's presumed nomination, Yahoo News is taking a retrospective look at the race for the 2012 Republican nomination through the eyes of Wikipedia's editors.

Click the module below to see an interactive look at how their profiles evolved.