Newt has survived just about everything that can be thrown at him and is still standing...he'll sweep the south and TX.
Not really. He was given huge sums of cash and was just able to win one state. By some reports, he is broke again. Who is going to give him money now? How is he going to go back to donors and ask them to contribute more with a string of forth and third place finishes under his belt?
He was given every opportunity to take Mittens out and has so far squandered it through focusing on grudge matches with Mittens and veering off message time and again. The CO win for Santorum is important. No one thought he would be able to beat Milt there. He creamed him. If Santorum can make a good showing in MI an OH, he will really be able to prove that he can knock Milt out in his home turf. His message about manufacturing is tailor made for these states and should do will with base voters.
Newt also doesn't seem to be able to knock down his personal negatives in all this. I don't see how that will help in swing states.
Against Obama in the general, Wrong Paul would sweep the south and TX. Admittedly in that case I'd suggest investing in nose plug rentals. Rick might not win Newt's southern strongholds by as much as Newt, but I believe he'd still win them. The south is a great base, but it's not enough. You need to win a few electoral votes beyond it. None of them are likely to win any deep blue states. Newt's ability to win even GOP votes beyond the south remains unproven. Santorum's wins have all been in purple states with Newt running 3rd or 4th, suggesting Rick has a better chance to pick up wins there in the general.