Republicans focused on House and Senate races are growing anxious that former Speaker Newt Gingrich might win the GOP presidential nomination.
These Republicans, including Members and party operatives, tend to believe former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would give the GOP its best chance to hold the House and flip the Senate in 2012. And for the moment, they still predict Romney will win the nomination.
But for the first time, there is real concern that Gingrich could defeat Romney in Florida on Jan. 31 and ride that momentum to victory in the states ahead, despite Romney’s organizational advantage.
Sen. John McCain, a Romney backer who is headed to Florida later this week to campaign for the former governor, conceded that the battle with Gingrich is competitive. The Arizona Republican described Romney’s double-digit loss to Gingrich in South Carolina as a “significant setback. You can’t paint it any other way.” But McCain said he was encouraged by Romney’s feisty debate performance Monday night.
“I think he’s still going to win, but it’s going to be much tougher. I mean, it’s very obvious,” said McCain, the GOP’s 2008 presidential nominee. “I think most people believe that Newt Gingrich cannot win a general election — among other things. And some people are alarmed at the prospect of sending out U.S. Marshals to round up federal judges when they do things that the legislative branch or executive branch may disagree with.”
McCain was referring to a Gingrich proposal to hold federal judges more accountable for their decisions by compelling judges to testify before Congress. The former Speaker has also indicated support for making it easier to remove judges from the bench and possibly eliminating circuit courts.
After badly losing in Iowa and New Hampshire, Gingrich surged to the lead in Florida and nationally on the strength of his first-place finish in South Carolina and two strong debate performances in the run-up to Saturday’s election. He now leads Romney by 7.4 points in Florida and by 1.3 points nationally, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average. However, many Republicans expect the vote in Florida to be close.
Gingrich, historically a conservative firebrand, has moved to position himself to the right of Romney on key issues. But Sen. Jim DeMint, who has not endorsed in the race and expects the volatile GOP primary to last well past Florida, suggested that the race between Gingrich and Romney has nothing to do with who is more conservative.
“I’m really not sure it’s about who’s the most conservative. It may be about who’s the most assertive,” said DeMint, a stalwart conservative and tea party favorite. “When I go around the country, people don’t thank me for being the most conservative, they just say, ‘Thanks for fighting.’”
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
