Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is stepping up his campaign operation in Iowa, but he may face stiff competition in the form of resurgent former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Gingrich, who has seen his once-moribund campaign bounce back in the polls in recent weeks, now leads Romney and narrowly trails embattled former pizza mogul Herman Cain in the Hawkeye State. He received an enthusiastic response from the GOP faithful at a Republican Party dinner held over the weekend, and with Cain’s front-runner status in jeopardy due to sexual harassment allegations, Gingrich could become the consensus anti-Romney candidate conservative activists have been waiting for.
“If Cain’s problems do real damage, the next beneficiary is likely to be Gingrich,” GOP consultant Phil Musser told the Wall Street Journal on Monday. “Frankly, the race to become the chief alternative to Romney reminds me of ‘Musical Chairs: GOP Edition.’ The next round is about to begin, but nobody knows who will get the seat when the music finally stops.”
Meanwhile, Romney has been cautiously upgrading his presence in Iowa, the state whose first-in-the-nation caucus his campaign had until recently written off. He’s been hiring more staff in the state, and on Monday went on the offensive against President Obama before a crowd of hundreds at a sheet metal factory in Dubuque.
“This is a critical time for us. I don’t want to wake up a year from now and turn on my TV and have it say ‘President Obama re-elected.’ Because I know what that means. It means a weaker America,” said a plaid-shirt-and-jeans wearing Romney. “I want to see a new president take America in a great tradition and a new tradition, one that makes America the best place in the world to be middle-class again, and I will be that president.”
Four years ago, Romney was the favorite to win the caucus before a come-from-behind victory by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee derailed his campaign. His presence in Iowa is still a shadow of what it was in the last election, but it also seems to underscore his campaign’s belief that he can win over some of the evangelical Christian voters who went for Huckabee in 2008. Doing so would demonstrate that Romney has broadened his appeal beyond his comparatively moderate base, and would provide momentum for a push into New Hampshire and South Carolina. (RELATED: The comeback kid: Gingrich beating Romney in Iowa poll)
However, Romney still faces staunch opposition from some conservatives over what they perceive as his lack of authenticity and tendency to “flip-flop” on issues like health care, climate change and abortion. Even with Cain’s campaign struggling to deal with a sexual harassment scandal that grows worse by the day, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign hobbled by a series of sub-par debate performances and bizarre gaffes, Romney has been unable to break away from the pack in national polls. That gives Gingrich an opening, and Romney’s critics hope.
“Conservatives are giving my friend Newt another look,” Ali Akbar, a Republican strategist and co-founder of NotMittRomney.com, told The Daily Caller. “I think it’s a good thing. All of these candidates need thorough review and re-review as we decide who can best represent the greatest number of us, because it sure isn’t Mitt Romney… Mitt Romney is the flavor of the month that we can’t get out of our mouth.”