A super PAC supporting former House Speaker Newt Gingrich launched during the CNBC presidential debate Wednesday night, “to support Newt Gingrich’s comeback run for president.”
The super PAC, called Solutions 2012, was formed to support Gingrich’s campaign by providing the resources and manpower that the campaign currently lacks.
After most of his campaign staff quit this summer, Gingrich has been running a pared down campaign, both in terms of people and resources. His campaign brought in only $800,000 in the third quarter, and he had only $353,416 in the bank at the end of that quarter.
“Solutions 2012 will fill the void by making expenditures for GOTV efforts, mail, and television and radio ads,” according to a press release from the group.
Indeed, the group is already gaining steam on the resources front. Charlie Smith, campaign manager for the group, told The Daily Caller in an email that “we are due to blow through our fundraising goal for the first night within the first two hours of being live.”
“The media and Washington elite counted Newt down and out,” said Smith. “But, as we get down to crunch time, conservatives are finding out what we’ve known all along: Newt Gingrich is articulating real solutions to real problems. People are sick of games; they want a real, conservative leader who can win. More and more conservatives are seeing that Newt is that guy.”
“Substance matters,” says a video on the group’s website.
Indeed, Gingrich has seen his star rising in the polls in recent weeks. Four polls — conducted by USA Today/Gallup, NBC News/Wall Street Journal, Rasmussen, Quinnipiac and Fox News — found Gingrich in third place behind Cain and Romney. An Insider Advantage poll released last week found Gingrich in third place in Iowa, the first-in-the-nation caucus state, just three points behind Romney.
Gallup also found that Gingrich’s positive intensity — a measure of the candidate’s popularity among those who know him — is now at 14, the second highest score of anyone. That score has steadily risen since August, when it dropped to one.
“We’re going to cast votes in a matter of weeks,” said Smith. “People are starting to make their decisions, and Newt is catching their eye. He’s getting a second look.”
“Conservatives want a candidate who will stand on principle and who can win. We see no need to compromise. Newt Gingrich would wipe the floor with President Obama in the presidential debates,” he added. “It’s his time.”
“Super committees are like iPads,” commented Republican political consultant Dan Hazelwood. “All the cool kids and credible candidates ought to have them. Gingrich was overdue.”