GOP Race Heats Up: Is Romney Losing Momentum?

GOP Race Heats Up: Is Romney Losing Momentum?

Former House Speaker Newt Gingirch swept to victory in South Carolina Saturday, winning a primary that every Republican nominee for President has won since 1980 despite facing vicious personal attacks in the days leading up to the primary.

Gingrich carried South Carolina with 40 percent of the vote while former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ran second with about 28 percent of the vote. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul finished third and fourth, respectively.

The decisive victory for Gingrich puts a small dent in Romney’s hopes of easily locking up the nomination. The perceived frontrunner for much of the past six months, Romney has now won just one of the three early primary states.

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Still Mitt’s to Lose

But State GOP executive director Patrick Sweeney – a Romney supporter – said Romney is still in the driver’s seat thanks to his strong organization. He noted that Romney is still considered to be a frontrunner in several upcoming states.

While Gingrich has worked to attract the anti-Romney faction of the Party, Rhode Island Republicans have consistently said Romney is the only candidate that has a realistic chance to defeat President Obama in November. Ultimately, Sweeney said, the nominee has to be able to win the general election.

"While this may now be a two-horse race, Governor Romney has the best organization and message by far,” he said. “His message of creating jobs and cultivating free enterprise in America is resonating with the voters. In any event, this is still Mitt's race to lose. He should have strong wins in Florida, Nevada, and Michigan and return to Florida in August as the Republican nominee. The President remains focused on dividing the nation, engaging in class warfare, and attacking the free enterprise system that has made America the greatest nation in the World. And as polling has shown, Mitt is the only Republican nominee that can defeat President Obama in November."

Republican Blogger: No Real Momentum

Still, other local Republicans say it is becoming clear that while Romney may be the frontrunner, Gingrich is proving that the race could be won by another candidate. Top conservative blogger Justin Katz, the editor of Anchor Rising, told GoLocalProv there are several ways to analyze Gingrich’s victory.

“In one way of looking at things, nothing much has changed: Santorum managed an upset (though he was shortchanged on the boost by a messy vote count), but Gingrich was expected to be strong in South Carolina,” Katz said. So, it's still possible that Romney will get back to clear-frontrunner status. On the other hand, things may really get interesting, now: The assertion that only Romney can achieve the nomination is dead, but at the same time, those who've been voting "non-Romney" have to begin considering whether they really want somebody else to grab the ring.”

At this point, Katz said he doesn’t see any candidate as having “real momentum.”

“At this point, everybody's got to begin building the case for himself,” Katz said. “If Romney can rebuild to ‘clear frontrunner,’ he’ll be all the stronger for the challenge. If Gingrich manages to do so, it'll mean that he's overcome the considerable (and justified) concern about his stability and character. And if Santorum takes the lead, he'll have proven himself to be the blend of ‘electability’ and conservatism for which primary voters have been looking.”

 

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