Posted on 03/09/2012 11:35:16 AM PST by Steelfish
Gingrich Not In Kansas Anymore: Will Focus On Alabama and Mississippi Primaries By Rachel Rose Hartman
Reinvigorated by a home state win in Georgia Tuesday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is setting himself up for two more must-wins next Tuesday in Alabama and Missississippi as he seeks to lay claim to the south.
"This race has been a roller coaster up and down," Gingrich told a Jackson, Miss. audience Friday morning, drawing a roller coaster's trajectory with his finger-- completing a metaphor he's adopted on the stump. "I believe with your help next Tuesday when we win here and we win in Alabama we'll be back up again."
In a signal of how much stock the campaign is placing in Mississippi and Alabama, Gingrich cancelled a day-long campaign swing through Kansas--which votes in caucuses this Saturday--to instead campaign in the two states.
Gingrich is running at a financial disadvantage to Romney and has therefore been carefully picking his targets, risking a loss of momentum by sitting out difficult races such as primaries Feb. 28 in Michigan and Arizona.
Gingrich's campaign continues to contend that Romney isn't a "convincing" or able frontrunner. In an interview with Yahoo News on Super Tuesday, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said Romney continues to fail to excite the base. "He's not offering solutions," Hammond said. He also argued that Gingrich continues to show grassroots donor strength, which will translate into votes in upcoming states, unlike Romney, who he said was funded by wealthy corporate donors and others who have "maxed out" their support.
But Gingrich's chief opponent in Tuesday's contests is not Romney, who has not been very successful at wooing conservatives and is not expected to fare well in Mississippi and Alabama. It's Rick Santorum Gingrich must contend with if we wants to add...
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
AL and MS are the stepping stones to the big prize.....Texas.
“Gingrich Not In Kansas Anymore....”
Ha!
Did he say: ‘Why, THIS isn’t Kansas City’... then click his heels togetger and say: “I wish I was home”??
Perry’s endorsement of Gingrich in TX may be the kiss of death, since he’s ratings in TX have taken a nose-dive. On the other hand, Gingrich’s pro-amnesty (amnesty for grandmothers) position might bring him the Hispanic vote.
I’m hearing a lot of Newt radio ads here in TX...
Remember the key in the next few weeks is to deny the nomination to Romney. I'll take my chances in a brokered convention. There is no reasonable candidate who could emerge who would be as bad as Romney.
Texas is looking very strong for Santorum. He could hit 50% plus here. Everyone I know on the evangelical front is for Santorum.
On the other hand, Texans might just be looking for a PRESIDENT...that’s what I’m doing...to help us SAVE America and preserve Texas.
And Santorum ain’t it.
Lookin’ for a Reagan type.
Not a Reagan...there was only one and he died.
Newt is a Reagan type.
Romney is an anti Reagan.
Santorum is a non Reagan.
And Sarah Palin agrees with ME on this.
” The problem for Gingrich is that even if he wins must-win states in AL and MS he will be viewed as simply a regional candidate. “
The problem with Gingrich is only to Santorum in that Newt is a tactical genius.
Rick on the other hand is Hillary in a vest.
We are running a primary here, bubba, for delegates, preferably of the PLEDGED variety who actually take you to the nomination. Newt is winning that contest well enough to compete well in the South.
Newt runs regionally in the general election campaign.
Call back when you get it.
Their votes are very good.
So are their delegates.
Gone will be the meme, Newt can’t win anywhere but his home state.
Never mind he already won SC overwhelmingly...guess they just forgot about that.
Your prediction that it won’t matter even if he wins those two...you wish.
But it will have broader implications...sorry to inform you.
When Reagan was a struggling candidate who later was nominated and trounced Jimmy Carter, they said there was no way Reagan could do what he later did.
Newt one on one, against Obama.
The exact matchup we need.
Glad the deep south is beginning to get it.
If they can get it, there’s hope.
The real problem for Gingrich is that he hasn’t figured out that these little teeny tiny Saturday caucuses dominate the news cycle going into the Tuesday primary votes -and the easiest way for him to win AL and MS would have been to blanket Kansas with ads and appearances.
Thats the difference between the two candidates now.
If Gingrich takes the south and is a regional candidate—what does that make the candidates that took not south?
Your take as to why not KS but why instead more MS and AL could be wrong.
Newt chose to put pedal to the metal in GA. By doing that he garnered a smattering in OK and TN but upped his GA totals. He tried to maximize his GA prize, in other words.
His stated reason about KS was in order to concentrate on the two neigboring states that vote Tuesday. I think his strategy appears to be similar to his GA strategy...how much can he win the other states by, assuming he does win them.
More productive than including KS on his itinerary and expense list, might be his call on it.
I’m not.
Newt Gingrich Sixth Most Admired Man in America gallup.com/poll/151790/Ba… //Rick, Mitt, Ron not on the list.
And a great ground game with many coordinators in the Districts
Poll: Gingrich on top in Mississippi
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2856853/posts
2012 Alabama Republican Primary: Gingrich 30%, Santorum 29%, Romney 28%, Paul 7%
:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2856852/posts
RNC: Gingrich Leads Santorum in Primary Delegates
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2856683/posts
If I recall correctly, Newt was formerly behind in those states, now rising in those states.
In delegates Newt is ahead in hard delegates, as soft ones are not counted at this point because they are not bound by convention rules to vote for a particular candidate. Santorum has some soft delegates, and Santorum is facing delegate difficulties down the road, as well.
Rick Santorum’s delegate woes: Trying hard in some states; in others, not so much
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2856688/posts
Newt has pledged to seek out soft delegates and ask for their support.
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