It’s official: Newt Gingrich is now the front-runner for the GOP nomination, at least according to Mitt Romney.
In an interview with the Politico website, when asked if the former speaker is the current frontrunner, Romney replied, “He is right now.”
The former Massachusetts governor conceded that Gingrich has taken the lead in the 2012 race and that he’d rather see Obama defeated than use “incendiary” language against his opponents.
Romney’s commitment to play nice with his challengers comes as his campaign unleashes its latest attack on Gingrich in the form of UnreliableLeader.com.
“A look at Gingrich’s record may explain his public partnership with [Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi and [former Vice President Al] Gore,” reads the site below a list of times the Georgia politician cozied up to the conservative piñatas.
Even if Romney’s efforts don’t yield a Gingrich defeat, Mitt explained that he would be just fine.
“I could become our nominee, or someone else could become our nominee,” said Romney, “and I can go back to business and go back to my family.”
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For now, Romney still sees the nomination within his grasp.
“I think in the final analysis, when people take a very close look at our experience,” Romney said, referring to how voters will decide between him and Gingrich, “at our records, at our backgrounds, they’ll recognize that my background and my experience as a leader is what America needs.”
“It’s a very fluid electorate. I think I’ll get the nomination. I can’t predict when. … I’ve got — what? — five or six more months to go to make that a reality.”