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A race for the GOP presidential nomination that had seemed headed toward a quick conclusion just a week ago now seems more headed toward a protracted and expensive competition, thanks to Newt Gingrich's victory in Saturday's South Carolina primary.
Republicans in the Palmetto State dispatched the possibility of any tidy resolution to the primary campaign by handlng the former House speaker a 12-point victory over Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who had hoped to wrap up the nomination.
The candidates are now focused on Florida, which hosts a primary closed to Republican voters only on Jan. 31; the winner is awarded all of the Sunshine State’s delegates, but will also assume a degree of momentum from winning such a large contest in an important swing state.
"That’s the case you have to make in this contest – that you’re strong enough to compete in all of the states," said Kevin Madden, an adviser to the Romney campaign.
The contest in Florida is already shaping up to be an especially pointed one between Romney and Gingrich, the two of whom are already taking shots at each other at campaign events. They’ll confront each other directly at Monday evening’s NBC News/National Journal debate.
“What we know is that 75 percent of the party has consistently not wanted Mitt Romney,” said Rick Tyler, a former spokesman for Gingrich who now helps run a super PAC aiding the former speaker. “Here in Florida, because Rick Santorum has essentially collapsed and Ron Paul is not competing, it's essentially a two-way contest. All I need to do is align Newt Gingrich with that 75 percent and Mitt Romney with Charlie Crist.”
The Romney campaign had treated Florida as a firewall even before losing the South Carolina primary. Almost 200,000 early and absentee ballots, which are expected to favor Romney, have been cast. And the state favors organization and money, the latter of which the Romney campaign has, as evidenced by a $2.3 million broadcast buy made this week.
The dynamics of the Florida campaign could allow Gingrich, though, to rally dissatisfied conservatives behind his candidacy and ride momentum from South Carolina – where his candidacy was resurrected for the second time this cycle – to compete and even win in Florida.
Tyler said that he expects Gingrich to win Florida, but asserted victory there wasn’t critical to the ex-speaker’s hopes of winning the nomination.
That’s because of the way this year’s primary calendar is set up.
Beyond Florida, the campaign also enters relatively dormant phase with several smaller caucuses and primaries through early March, mostly in states advantageous to Romney.
Nevada, a state where Romney has previously campaigned and which has a sizable Mormon population, hosts its caucus on Feb. 4, and Colorado and Minnesota host subsequent caucuses on Feb. 7.
Those are the only contests until the end of the month, when Arizona and Michigan host primaries on Feb. 28. Romney has an advantage in Michigan, where he was raised and where his father served as governor. Washington state also hosts a March 3 caucus.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul is also concentrating his efforts on winning some of these caucuses, where his enthusiastic supporters typically play an outsized role in similar contests.
That means Gingrich’s next big opportunity could come on March 6, this year’s “Super Tuesday,” when 10 states hold their contests – putting a number of delegates in play. It’s the results from those contests which could provide the best glimpse of how long the primary campaign will last, and whether Romney or Gingrich can finally score a decisive knockout blow.
“I think it's very important,” Tyler said of March 6. “But I think if Newt performs well in Florida, he'll do very well on Super Tuesday.”
The 10 contests on that day could favor Gingrich, since a number of them are in southern or more conservative states whose voters might be more inclined to support him. Gingrich won't be on the ballot in one of the states, Virginia, where he failed to qualify.
For its part, the Romney campaign has always stressed the primacy of winning delegates, and has prepared for the possibility of a drawn-out primary against a conservative challenger.
“The campaign was built for a very competitive primary contest,” Madden said. “I think we’re prepared to go all the way.”
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Love it! This will save the Obama campaign the trouble and expense of eviscerating these one-percenters and Troglodytes himself. He doesn't have to expose them for what they are, since they're doing it for him.
Let's face it. Any of these guys is better than the chimp we have now.
Racist, racism, racial. Love the way you stick your foot in your eye.
Don't play the race card ... that is soooo 80's!!!
Randall-474472
Racist, racism, racial. Love the way you stick your foot in your eye.
____________________________
Are you playing the desperate race card?
Marjorie....liberal/progressive/socialists ALWAYS play the race card. I believe it is guilt associated with the way the democrat party treats blacks. They have a long history of promising the moon and never delivering anything.
Marjorie ... your prejudice is showing, and it's disgraceful. Grow up. You can dislike the President's policies, but to attack him personally shows your immaturity and willful ignorance. Please move yourself to Iran where you belong.
Marjorie J loves being hated. Must've recently divorced "her" cousin, again. Too bad. So sad.
Marjorie J is so...so...lonely. "Her" only company is that thing "she" sees reflected in the cracked mirror. Poor, poor Marjo. So wombless and barren...in and out.
And...I'm "laffing" at "her"...b/c Obama/Biden are gonna win again! No doubt about it, Marjo!!
Marjorie - just curious what you meant by chimp? Poor choice of words at the least right?
I'm loving those Repub SuperPACs. Party loyalty? LMFAO. Thanks to the SuperPACs these jokers can now afford the long haul to beat the ever livin bejeezus out of each other and it's gonna get LOUD! Every week they're gonna rip each other to shreds so by the time the winner faces Obama he'll be so beat up and bloodied it won't even be a contest. NICE.
I guess being rich makes you a real scum bag , I'm not and won't make it in the time I have left , but I don't begrudge the guy who is . Obama is doing pretty well in the money department I believe , but That don't make the man BAD . He just ain't a very good President , My vote will be for the Evil Rich Villian ,,
IMHO, considering what he's had to deal with in the Republican hog-tied Congress, he's doing pretty well.
Randall,
I realize that liberalism dulls the mind, but your comment about the congress is ridiculous. Obama had the whole congress for two years and the democrat party still controls the Senate. If congress is indeed hog tied as you assert, then the blame lies with both houses.
Bush/Republicans had both houses and the presidency for 6 years. After 6 years of Republican dominance, they lost BOTH houses and the presidency.
What happened?
How did the "war hero" and the "soccer mom" get their heads handed to them by a black guy with a muslim name? Anybody remember? It must have been pretty bad.
I see alot of banter about how much the Bush deficit was, some don't understand the difference between deficit and spending. Bush overspent and borrowed, never passed a budget due to the War Powers Act. If I spend more than I take in, it becomes a deficit, and if I borrow against that deficit more than I can pay back, only the annual payment is considered in the deficit, not the principal amount. The Bush deficit continues to grow because we can't raise enough tax revenue to pay it back. BTW spending under Obama is projected to be 5 times lower than Bush in a single term.
One big difference was that Bush, true to his party and ideology, spent on the wealthy 1%, while Obama is for the 99%.
randall
Obama knows nothing about the 99%. He has been hob nobbing with the Chicago elite for years and is a multi-millionaire himself.
What are you smoking? They both helped the 1%. They both hate the 99% Bush put them in debt and Obama continues to put us in debt and inflate our money.
Get rid of them all and get Jon Kyle!
This really sucks and I don't care what party you follow. Many thousands of Americans are homeless, hungry, without work and access to medical care, but the party espousing smaller government can spend millions to sling mud at each other in order to get elected. I doubt very seriously if they're doing in out of the goodness of their hearts and any concern for their fellow Americans. Just their taxpayer paid pensions would make it worthwhile.
How many would be vying for office if they had to take a year or two out of their cushy lives to serve without remuneration?
I would do it, cause I am one those "Many thousands of Americans" Write in Ouzzy88 in 2012!
Let these idiots and their supporters keep pouring money into the economy. It creartes jobs and thus supports Obama. What a bunch of idiots. They couldn't run a primary in Iowa and now they want to run the country?
If you really want to see Romney's slick hair be used as a floor mop just wait until Paul or Santorum pulls out. I was really hoping for Bachman in her drop out speech to endorse Newt like Perry did but after thinking about it I believe she has ulterior motives and doesnt want to alienate any candidate because she wants to be VP if she couldnt be the presidential candidate
Write in Ouzzy88 and we'll see that its not a write off! Write in! No write off! LOL!
Mitt is the man. He'll get the nomination. He'll select Rubio from FL as his VP and then we'll watch Obama sweat out all the BS he has fed us and all the destuction he's done to the economy, employment, devaluation of the dollar,ect. Did you realize that Obama's approval rating is the lowest in history for a 1st term Pres. Even lower than "jimma" Carter, who was voted out after his one term!!
Romney and Rubio in 2012 ... take it to the bank!!
while I like Rubio he said he has no desire and will not accept a VP nomination. It would be very difficult for him to go back on his word, Sorry but to me Mitt comes across as smug and fake JMHO although one thing is for certain....Daffy Duck would be better than Obama except maybe Ron waaaars Paul
ZMAN Sure buddy, whatever you say. How did you get so precient? Were born with some magical skill?
Do you know that Bush's poll numbers were vastly lower than Obama's???
And if Bush was such a great president then how come NOT A SINGLE GOP CANDIDATE EVER MENTIONS HIS NAME??
Bush was 4 years ago ... let's talk about the present not the past. Let's talk about Obama's accomplishments over his 1st term?? I'm listening?
usually past presidents arent brought into current presidential bids. Thats just how it is. Generally past presidents also stay neutral during primaries out of respect for the office and the proccess. They dont really campaign for a candidate until theyve secured the nomination. The only person bringing GWB into the conversations is Obama blaming him. That blame excuse for him ran out a long time ago. Most recently Bush didnt veto a pipeline deal with Canada that wouldve created many jobs...Barry did
"Bush was 4 years ago"
Everything that is wrong now is Obama's fault.
Everything that went bad under Bush is Clinton's fault.
Clinton was a fool to invade Iraq, and Obama shouldn't have bailed out the Banks.
LOL.
Oh great..another NBC debate...finally we will get the questions that Americans are most concerned with.....like gay marriage issues...global warming issues....abortion rights issues......Newts marriage issues.....forget about the economy that don't matter at all.
along with Bain Capitol. who goes to church where, and what shoe size are you today. Same old rot gut. I dont even know why the republican nominees....any of them even bother appearing on CNN or NBC
Romney made an issue out of his "business" experience with Bain Capital. If you don't want people to ask questions about it, shut up.
The GOP is the Jesus party. You can't blame the "liberal news media" for that. They spend more time talking about "faith" than anything else.
Why do you guys watch?
I hope Gingrich does win in Florida because that means it will take delegates away from Romney. Gingrich does not have the momentum to carry on beyond some of the southern states. Ron Paul 2012! Peace Prosperity Freedom.
Romney's runnning mate is Rubio which means that they will get the state of FL, easy. Mitt is loved in MI, so that's 2 swing states that go to Romney. GULP!!!
Peace Prosperity Freedom.
....and racism.
Oh yeah, don't forge that we need a big pile of shiny rocks! If we had a big pile of shiny rocks like we had in the 1920s, our economy would be great again, just like it was in the 1930s.....oops.
Randall ... do you know that the top 1% paid more in taxes than the bottem 95%?? You can just say thank you and maybe I'll continue to pay my taxes so you and your friends can watch your 50" flat screens and collect your welfare checks!!
Ah, the voice of ignorance & hatred, at it again. Got news for you buddy, many of the folks collecting "welfare" are Republicans. Like the more than 200 Grand that Michell Bachmann and her oh, so gay husband colleced from Uncle Sam for DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Get a clue
INTREPID 1 - Why the biased gay comment? You anti-gay? Where do you get that many of the folks collecting welfare are Republicans? That's just dumb.
Yeah! Fancy pants with your flat screened TVs, and your fancy Walkman!
I just have a mental picture of these teabirthers, sitting in their doublewide, watching their 21" Admiral, and eating cornnuts.
thebeachbum66
Oh great..another NBC debate...finally we will get the questions that Americans are most concerned with.....like gay marriage issues...global warming issues....abortion rights issues......Newts marriage issues.....forget about the economy that don't matter at all.
________________________
I hope they can ask stupid krap like, coke or pepsi, again........
I see the clowns are on again tonight.....If thats all they got Obama 2012.......
The next election will be won by the candidate that most appeals to moderates. Nominating a far right candidate like Gingrich practically hands the election to the democrats. Given the choice between Obama and Gingrich I would cast my vote for anyone else on the ballot or leave it blank.
I would love to see a debate between Newt and the chimp!
And I'd love to see you take your hateful, racist comments and get stuffed, but good.
INTREPID 1, how is my comment racist?
She's just commenting on his looks. Nothing racial. He's JJ from "Good Times"
If I have to tell you, you'll never know. And if you go back and look at your earlier posts, you'll see I'm hardly the first person to comment on this. Get a clue lady.
Marjorie: Your a racist pig. PIG
Zman-1070873, I wasn't commenting on his looks, I was commenting on his brains. (or lack thereof)
Settle down ... marjorie if referring to Romney as the chimp. Right, MJ?
I have the inside info on Romney. I support his campaign .... so don't try to tell me what you don't have any idea about!!
Oh, OK, evidently you're the man in the know. Can't mess with you, you've got the juice. Sure buddy, whatever.
I got the money .. forget the juice!!
Their no way in hell Mitt and Newt will ever get elected without Ron Paul supporters. So if the republican party wants to have a chance in beating Obama they should start throwing their support to Ron Paul. Mitt & Newt are more socialist than republicans.
Ordinarily I would just say "what a waste of money". However, the money the GOP candidates are spending is probably good for the economy. Outside of that, I can't imagine any other benefit. Newt nor Mitt or the other two guys haven't a snowballs to occupy the office of President of the United States in 2012. Matter of fact, I can't see any changes between 2012-2020 with the emergence of Elizabeth Warren on the horizon. Better luck perhaps with a change of attitude in the upcoming new decade.
But it is not unexpected the gop have billions to spend on elections. They emptied the fed vault in bldg 7 of gold on 911 before they blew the bldg up. The 1933 20 gold piece sold for $8M recently. And the govt seized 10 more coins. All thought to have been destroyed on 911.
Gopers spending boat loads of money to defame each other?
I have no problem with that. It keeps them busy and takes their hands from the throats of the American workforce they have been trying to destroy for over a generation.
Racists always deny being racists...always.
Nevertheless, I hope this silly 'publican race gets dragged out as they drag each other through the mud.
maze-1548920
Marjorie: Your a racist pig. PIG
______________
How is calling Obama a "chimp" regarded as racist?
Would you prefer I called him a moron?
You idiots and your race-card, is getting really weak.........
Your still a racist in my eyes.
Marge, who do you think you're $h!ttin' on here?? Who??
so were people who called Bush a chimp racist? You probably would say no.
Because only liberals look at Americans in subgroups. We look at Americans as Americans
Marjorie ... please take your gun and bible and crawl back into your single-wide. But first, check the still to make sure it isn't overflowin', brush your tooth, and go to bed. You are mindless and irrelevant.
Admit it, Marjo...your he-man self called Obama a chimp, b/c your cousin divorce your flat, fat azz, again. i hear that you gotta pay your cousin lotsa alimony! (Did your ex-husband/cousin happen to look like Obama, a little bit?) Shhhh...I won't tell.
Yup! That's what I heard about'cha! I know it's a fact!! No doubt! 100% true!
Whine on...!