Recent nationwide polls show Newt Gingrich surging to the top of the Republican Presidential Primary contenders. But he seems to be the latest in a long line of candidates who have risen to the top as many in the Republican Party become weary of a Mitt Romney candidacy. The question is, unlike the others, can Newt maintain his lead?
The first to challenge the inevitability of a Romney nomination was Michele Bachmann. She became the choice of conservatives and showed a meteoric rise in the polls. But a post debate performace where she criticized the administering of a vaccine to fight cancer in young girls rubbed people the wrong way. Also, when it became known that her husband’s business received government money, it took the sheen off her anti-government spending mantra.
Rick Perry’s decision to enter the race sunk the Bachmann campaign as conservatives flocked to the Texas governor’s campaign and he then shot to the forefront of the polls. But Perry’s debate performances left many fans wanting for more. There was even some discussion that Perry would no longer participate in debates, but he vowed that was not going to be the case and his debate answers since then have led to a goldmine for late night comedians.
As Perry slipped, Atlanta businessman Herman Cain began to resonate with Republican voters. Unlike Perry, the CEO of Godfather’s Pizza gained traction from his debate performances and his ‘9-9-9′ tax plan became what everyone was talking about. But four women came forward with allegations of inappropriate behavior in the workplace and Cain’s confused responses to those reports left many with a sour feeling. A businesswoman in Atlanta, Ginger White, then came forward claiming a 13-year affair with Cain. The Cain campaign has denied the allegation and eventually ceased their campaign.
That leaves the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, to fill the vacuum. With Cain’s decline in the numbers, several polls now confirm Gingrich as the top preference of Republican primary voters. What is even more remarkable is that Gingrich probably had one of the worst roll outs of presidential bid in history. He announced his candidacy over the Internet because they were having troubling finding a large enough crowd for an outdoor rally kickoff. Almost immediately reports surfaced of a large debt the Gingrichs had with luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany’s. Most of his campaign workers quit en masse and virtually every pundit declared his candidacy dead. But Newt plowed on and now is the beneficiary of the anti-Mitt Romney wing of the Republican Party. Interestingly, Romney’s numbers have remained consistent throughout this whole process, never sinking too low and also unable to run away with the nomination.
With the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary right around the corner, this is probably the last chance for one of the candidates to make a big move to the top, leaving Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, and Ron Paul on the outside looking in. The question is: Can Newt Gingrich sustain this lead and build on it or will he be like the several before him and eventually fall back to accept a Mitt Romney coronation? Romney’s fundraising and infrastructure far outweighs anyone else in the field, but in politics anything is possible. It looks like the primary season is going to end with an exciting finish.