Posted on 08/25/2011 12:28:02 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney may already be cutting his losses in advance of the 2012 primary season.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the former Massachusetts governor won't be attending a South Carolina campaign event hosted by Sen. Jim DeMint, a top figure in the Tea Party movement and one of the most conservative members of Congress. According to the Post:
"An aide to Romney, who has been dethroned as the GOP presidential nomination front-runner in recent polls by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, said the former Massachusetts governor will spend time in New Hampshire instead but is not ignoring South Carolina, a crucial early primary state.
"He will be in South Carolina enough to show that he is the best candidate to beat [President] Obama on jobs and the economy," said spokeswoman Andrea Saul, adding that Romney will probably campaign in the state in September.
"Romney visited the state a few times as a prospective candidate, but not since he announced his candidacy in June. His wife campaigned there in July."
While not totally ignoring the red state, it looks like Romney's got his sights set on more winnable territories like New Hampshire, especially now that Perry has entered the race. Perry, who announced his candidacy from South Carolina less than two weeks ago, is already edging out Romney in national polls, like one released Wednesday by Gallup, and appears to be gaining more momentum in the South.
Romney has been pegged as more moderate than other Republicans in the race, like Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. And both his Mormon roots and the healthcare plan he backed in Massachusetts as governor—often compared with President Obama's healthcare law—could give him problems with the conservative, largely evangelical Republican base in South Carolina.
So, if and when Romney does spend time in South Carolina, it would indeed likely be to convince voters that he's the best hope to beat President Obama in the general election. But for Tea Party conservatives, who have consistently expressed that they want nothing less than a staunch conservative, that argument may not cut it for the primary.
How many New Hampshire territories are there?
...Perry,...... appears to be gaining more momentum in the South.
Gallup: "Perry is a strong contender among key Republican subgroups. Older Republicans and those living in the South show especially strong support for him, at or near 40%. Conservative Republicans strongly favor Perry over Romney, but liberal and moderate Republicans support the two about equally. Perry's support is also above average among religious Republicans."
Ping!
The days are gone when a candidate can win New Hampshire and sail into the nomination. A Republican ignores South Carolina at his peril.
He can't hide forever, eventually he will get in front of a crowd that's not hand picked.
Mitt Romney speaks to supporters at a GOP picnic - Friday May 27, 2011
His big speech on jobs is the next day..so he can use that as a weak excuse..
IMO, it is a snub to DeMint, who endorsed Mitt last time out, and who so far hasn't taken sides.
Mitt probably sees the nomination slipping away, since Perry got it..it's got be killing him. SC primary has picked EVERY GOP nominee..and this year, it's even MORE important, because Florida follow right after..and Mitt had NO chance here either..
What I see from this poll is that Perry has basically grabbed support from every candidate except Ron Paul. Paul is stuck at 13-15% and won't improve from there, but his supporters will stick with him. Perry took a lot of support from soft Romney supporters (6 percentage points) as well as soft Bachmann supporters (3 points). He also plucked a couple of points from Gingrich.
Yes. Romney ignored Iowa (said he’d been there, done that in ‘08 — had all the network he needed) and Iowa ignored him.
It’s remarkable, the rise of Rick Perry. I see a lot of Perry-bashing here but the guy has NEVER lost an election before in his life, and he’s been in more than a few.
I have to think that unless Palin gets in and shakes things up, that Rick Perry’s road to the nomination seems rather easy as of right now. If he beats Bachmann in Iowa, he rides that wave into New Hampshire like Kerry did in 2004. If Perry beats Romney in New Hampshire, the race is over. Romney is putting all his eggs in New Hampshire so if he loses there then Perry is the nominee. If Perry loses New Hampshire to Romney, then we go to South Carolina. The South is Perry’s home base, so he should do well here. If Perry wins South Carolina, I also don’t see a path for Romney to win the nomination.
That poll looks pretty definitive. I wonder if Perry’s candidacy will satisfy Palin and cause her not to run?
They’re cheering on the inside. /spin
I would guess that Romney has held the “best chance of winning” crowd. Perry has given them confidence he can win. I would suspect Romney will continue to lose that support because he is a retread candidate.
Now the question is, since she was invited, will Palin snub SC too?
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South Carolina