Now that New Jersey Governor Chris
Christie has officially decided not to run for president in 2012, the Republican
race for the nomination is almost set in set in stone. With Christie out and
Sarah Palin no were to be found a candidate like former Governor Mitt Romney
must take this time to gain supporters.
Romney moved quickly, after news broke
about Christie’s decision, to gain the New Jersey Governor’s big supporters. Many
of the people that urged Christie to run are a part of Wall St. and big
business. One of the supporters Romney gained on the behalf of Christie is Home
Depot co-founder Kenneth Langone. Other big financial backers looking into
Romney are Bruce Rastetter an Iowa energy executive and Gary Kirke another Iowa
business man. Each of these men fought hard to get Christie in the race and is
now considering Romney as their candidate. The financial backing of such
Republican business men will no doubt help Romney during his campaign. However the
recent fundraising efforts of Texas governor Rick Perry are estimated to total
$15 million in the third quarter. This would mean that we cannot count Perry
out of the race just yet.
Recent polls have been suggesting
the most likely competition for the race for the nomination. A poll done by Fox
News last week showed Romney in the lead with 23 percent, Perry with 19 percent
and businessman Herman Cain with 17 percent. Similar results have come from
polls facilitated by Washington Post-ABC which put Cain tied for second with
Perry at 16 percent each and Romney on top with 25 percent. Another was done by
Quinnipiac University and put Romney ahead with 22 percent, second Cain with 17
percent and last Perry with 14 percent. There are many factors that contribute
to the poll results that have been quite different to those done in the past.
Most notably, Perry has run into
tough times on the campaign trail. With a disappointing performance in the last
GOP debate, Perry failed to keep fellow candidates from slowing down his
campaign. During the campaign Perry was not able to successfully defend himself
or attempt to take down fellow candidates. Another issue plaguing the Perry
campaign is the recent discovery of the hunting camp that he and his family entered
the lease on in the late 70s. The camp is getting negative attention because of
its name that uses a derogatory term. Perry has been on the defensive claiming
that the name, N*****head, had been painted over on a rock that was located at
the entrance. However, there has been some speculation on when this cover up occurred,
if it did at all. Herman Cain has benefitted greatly from this debacle. He has
been making many appearances on television networks expressing his views on the
event as the only African American Republican candidate. Cain has even gained
much of Perry’s old followers that have moved away from the Texas governor.
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| Republican Candidate Mitt Romney, Source: NY Times |
All the while Romney has steadily been able to
gain support without immediate controversy. Many in his camp are confident that
he can gain the appropriate support to win the nomination because he has consistently
been able to become the leader in most polls by waiting out the controversies of
other candidates.
With two more debates scheduled in
the next two weeks a lot can happen. For example, if Perry turns out an
impressive debate performance in accordance with his large amount of fundraised
money, Romney will once again face steep competition. The other front runner,
Cain, seems to be promoting his book more than his candidacy these days
suggesting a less likely win of the nomination. Also Representative Michelle
Bachmann continued gaffe making has lost her considerable support in her party.
Overall, it seems the race has been
set for the primaries which are expected to begin in early January. Fierce competition
between Romney and Perry continues but one should not quickly count out any of
the other candidates. Republicans in this country must throw their support
behind a candidate soon and face the fact that no super-candidate will swoop in
and save the country.
Sources:
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