Being attacked as not a pure conservative and a heartless “corporate raider” did not stop Romney from finishing first, with a big margin of victory, in the New Hampshire Republican Primary. Speaking before the crowd, Romney declared, “Tonight, we made history.” Focusing on Obama, as always, Romney said to his opponents, “In the last few days, we have seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him [Obama]. This is such a mistake for our party and for our nation. This country already has a leader who divides us with the bitter politics of envy. We must offer an alternative vision.”
Days before the Primary, his Republican opponents seemed to have united on bringing him down. They questioned his work in Bain Capital, the private investment firm he co- founded and source of his wealth, and took out of its original context his remark: “I like to be able to fire people.”
Nonetheless, Romney garnered 39.4% of the votes last Tuesday. Santorum, Gingrich, and Perry were trailing far behind. With all the money he spent, Huntsman only finished third. On the other hand, Ron Paul continued to show a strong standing, with 22.8% of the overall vote.
However, many Republican candidates are hoping to turn the tides in the upcoming South Carolina Primary. Compared to Iowa and New Hampshire, this is a larger and more conservative state. Romney’s moderate views and Mormon faith may not be appealing to the voters. Only “14% of those who voted Tuesday said being a "true conservative" was the most important thing to them.” South Carolina is comprised of a large bloc of evangelical voters, who may pose some resistance against Romney. He also does not have a home- field advantage like in New Hampshire. Moreover, his rivals are more eager on attacking him than ever before. None of them are likely to back down. Huntsman, who is not fairing well, said, “I’d say third place is a ticket to ride. Hello, South Carolina!”
Still, Romney has some advantages. He has an edge in terms of funding, which is necessary as the primaries move toward larger states. Furthermore, most of his rivals only represent portions of the Republican base. For example, Paul appeals to independents while Santorum and Perry attract social conservatives. No one offers a “complete package.” Romney can also benefit a lot if the evangelicals and the tea party spit their votes.
Winning in South Carolina and Florida will be a great victory for Romney and will help him in moving ahead of the pack. But, it all depends on how he handles his opponents and uses his strengths.
Do you guys think that Romney will capture South Carolina? Will his not very conservative views and religion give him a tough time? Is his sole focus of removing Obama in office enough to carry him until November? *
*He said, “Nothing unites Republicans like these two words: Beat Obama."
3 comments:
Though Romney did very well New Hampshire, I don't think that means very much. Historically, the New Hampshire primary has always been won by a governor from massachusetts when there is one in the running. The two are right next door to each other so it makes sense that no matter how much time Huntsman spent in New Hampshire, Romney was always going to beat him in the primary. I agree that South Carolina will be a much bigger problem for Romney. Bain Capital certainly comes into play considering the fact that he has been running on the fact that he can create jobs and at Bain Capital he laid off a number of people. It wouldn't be as big a problem if he said he created wealth since he did do that, but jobs, not really (and he won't be able to as president either since all these Republicans say that government can't create jobs...... even though it is completely President Obama's fault that not enough jobs are being created.......). In addition to his history at Bain Capital, Gingrich (to a huge extent) and Perry don't have the nicest things to say about Romney. South Carolina has been bombarded with adds on how Romney is a horrible person because of his past as a business man and as such should not be elected. Now, I don;t really have a solid opinion on who will win South Carolina (though I still do lean towards Romney considering his competition is consisted of.... well I think its clear) but do think that Romney will definitely have a harder time than has had so far.
I agree with Patrick's opening comment; perhaps we put too much weight on the New Hampshire primary. I think it may be a little much to stretch Romney's victory in New Hampshire to a win in South Carolina. Like Katherine said initially, Romney's religious and buisness views may not help him in SC much. However, the fact that he is somewhat of a moderate and the most textbook like Republican, if you will, may work in his favor seeing his competition is...questionable.
The open primary both can be both a help and a hindrance to Romney: on one hand, it allows the more independent voters to vote, some of who can be more accepting to Romney's Mormon faith. At the same time, open primaries are, as we discussed in class, open to EVERYONE- including the other party, who may not have the best intentions in mind.
All in all, I think it's safe to say that Romney will to reasonably well in South Carolina; i doubt he will do as well as he did in NH, but he won't be at a complete loss.
I agree with Patrick and Allison, I don't think that Romney doing well in New Hampshire completely displays that he'll do well in South Carolina. The reason I say this is that South Carolina and New Hampshire have very different issues that concern them the most. I'm sure Romney will do fairly well in South Carolina too, but I doubt he'll do as well as he did in New Hampshire. Like Allison said before, Romney seems to have been playing by the book by trying to keep a moderate tone to his campaign, which could potentially hurt him or help him in South Carolina.
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