Newt kicked their ass in ‘94, some are old enough to remember. He’s “not dead yet”, much to their consternation.
Here’s what I have against Newt: (1) He was rather silent during Clinton impeachment proceedings, probably because he himself was having an affair at the time; (2) After the victory was basically won in 1994 they decided to NOT shut down the government - I thought that was chickening out and cutting and running; (3) Soft on immigration; (4) Made an ad with Nancy Pelosi.
But if he turns out to be the nominee, of course I will support him.