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Newt Gingrich to fight on but faces a tough road

Campaign 2012

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February 01, 2012|By Bobby Caina Calvan and Michael Kranish

Newt Gingrich greeted people at Freds Southern Kitchen yesterday in Plant… (Chip Somodevilla/GettyImages )

ORLANDO - Newt Gingrich defiantly vowed last night to take his bid for the presidency to all corners of the country and return victorious to the GOP national convention in Florida.

As his campaign team laid out a strategy to win Southern states and do well enough in other contests to survive, Gingrich took a more ambitious and combative approach that belies growing doubts over his candidacy.

“We’re going to have people-power defeat money-power in the next six months,’’ he said, alluding to Mitt Romney’s deep pockets. Notably, Gingrich did not congratulate his rival for his victory.

Analysts said the road ahead will be tough for Gingrich, beginning with Saturday’s caucuses in Nevada, where Romney has a head start in money and organization. With the next debate not until Feb. 22 and Deep South states not voting until March, Gingrich must hold on through a month of contests that favor Romney.

A string of losses would only intensify calls from the Republican establishment for Gingrich to quit.

Gingrich’s campaign is focusing on the Super Tuesday primaries March 6, which include his home state of Georgia and Tennessee, as well as states that he could do well in, such as Alaska, Idaho, and Oklahoma.

Republicans should know better than to count him out, said Merle Black, a professor of politics at Emory University who has long monitored the former House speaker.

“Gingrich’s career is a search for power and he sees opportunity where most people see a dead end,’’ Black said, noting that Gingrich lost in his first two attempts to be elected to the House before winning.

Besides counting on a Southern strategy, Gingrich must win support from Tea Party activists and others unhappy with Romney. Black said that could be difficult if such voters conclude Romney has a better chance of beating President Obama.

While Gingrich went directly from Florida to Nevada, one of his top campaign aides said winning that state, which has a heavy Tea Party presence, was considered a “lost cause.’’ Still, Gingrich is making the effort because Nevada awards its delegates proportionally and he could pick up a handful with a better-than-expected performance, said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not a spokesman.

Nevada is also the home state of Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, who have contributed $10 million to a pro-Gingrich super PAC.

That group pumped in about $6 million to aid Gingrich in Florida, said Rick Tyler, a senior adviser. He declined to discuss spending plans in Nevada and other states, but acknowledged that the super PAC is getting ready for the Super Tuesday contests. “We will be prepared to go all the way to the convention,’’ he said.