Posted on 02/29/2012 12:25:25 PM PST by Red Steel
Far behind Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney in Ohio polls, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has recruited a close adviser to Gov. John Kasich to help his presidential campaign here.
Gingrich on Wednesday announced that Franklin County Republican Party Chairman Doug Preisse would serve on his leadership team, which will be led by former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen of the Cincinnati area.
"Newt Gingrich is a great American leader with a pro-growth strategy to put Americans back to work," Preisse said in a statement released by the campaign.
Preisse is a top Kasich political consultant and Columbus lobbyist who has lined up with the governor's supporters to oust Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine. Preisse has been mentioned as a replacement for DeWine if DeWine is removed after next week's State Central Committee elections.
But Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said it would be a mistake to view Preisse's involvement in the Gingrich campaign as a Kasich endorsement by proxy. Kasich has declined to back any of the four remaining GOP presidential candidates.
Rex Elsass, a Kasich media consultant, also has been working for Gingrich.
Other Gingrich team members announced Wednesday were State Reps. Mike Dovilla of Berea, John Adams of Sidney and Ron Maag of Salem Township; State Sen. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati; former State Sen. Gary Cates, senior vice chancellor for innovation and enterprise development at the Ohio Board of Regents; former NFL linebacker Rocky Boiman of Green Township; and Kay Ayres, vice chairwoman of the Ohio GOP.
Ayres was among those who called on Kasich and his allies to "stand down" in the efforts to dump DeWine, the Columbus Dispatch has reported.
Repeat:I wish Newt would tone it down in Ohio. All he’s doing is hurting Santorum and helping Romney.
Yeah tone it down Newt. He is the only candidate making any sense, he is talking the truth, and conservatives want him to shut up. Go figure. Note Newt Gingrich!
Newt can’t win against Obama. Only Ricky the Preacher can lead us to the promised land. /s
Santorum has proved himself to be less electable than Romney. I’d much rather have Santorum in the White House than Romney, but it’s been looking less likely that he could pull it off due to so many rookie mistakes.
The only path to victory for conservatives is for Newt to reject the MittRick system, beat both his opponents back and rise back to the top of the polls. Newt can communicate conservative ideas to the public in a persuasive, convincing way. That’s what we need to win votes from the masses and from a generation whose brains have been addled by MTV, Ellen Degeneres and a left-wing radical education system.
I heard last night that Newt was making a big ad buy in Ohio.
You are kidding, right? Obama and his team are already doing a preemptive strike against Newt.
Anyone think Kasich is presidential or V.P. material? I don’t know a lot about him but from what I’ve seen I like his ability to connect with the middle class and the midwest, he seems like a solid right-winger and I like his communication skills.
You are kidding, right? They’ve been running ads against Mitt for months. And they started an Operation Chaos to elect Rick, as well as helping him rise to the top of the polls by engineering the contraception issue, because they want to run against Rick so bad.
Yeah, Newt is drawing the line and both Mittens and Ricky are in his cross hairs.
I hope this is a good choice. I actually think one of the problems with Gingrich’s PAC ads is that whoever is running the campaign is tone-deaf.
That is, I think the person or group is probably very conservative and is addressing the ads to inner-circle or hard-core people (such as Freepers) who know all the references. But the problem is that the ads have to go out and really speak to everybody, not just the inner circle.
I hope the Kasich campaign people can do this.
I wonder if he is Paula Priesse’s brother? She is a hoot to read...skewering liberals every chance she gets!
GO NEWT GO!
Sorry, the one who needs to tone it down is Santorum. He blew is opportunity to win Michigan because he just couldn't help himself.
Thanks - Just looked her up on YouTube.
She's pretty good.
Newt can't tone it down. He has to come on loud and strong if he's to have any chance at all based upon polling data.
Ohio Republican Presidential Primary
| Poll | Date | Sample | Santorum | Romney | Gingrich | Paul | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCP Average | 1/28 - 2/26 | -- | 34.3 | 26.0 | 18.0 | 10.8 | Santorum +8.3 |
| Ohio Poll/Univ of Cin. | 2/16 - 2/26 | 542 LV | 37 | 26 | 16 | 11 | Santorum +11 |
| Quinnipiac | 2/23 - 2/26 | 847 LV | 36 | 29 | 17 | 11 | Santorum +7 |
| Rasmussen Reports | 2/15 - 2/15 | 750 LV | 42 | 24 | 13 | 10 | Santorum +18 |
| PPP (D) | 1/28 - 1/29 | 626 RV | 22 | 25 | 26 | 11 | Gingrich +1 |
I wish Newt would concentrate elsewhere.
I like Newt. I support him. I don't want Romney - period.
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