Derek Page
Assistant News Editor
It’s getting down to the wire as GOP candidates kick their campaigns into high gear for the final stretch in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Voters eagerly await next Saturdays primary in South Carolina to get a better view of the candidates and who will likely receive the nomination.
“I’m really excited to see what happens in South Carolina. This state can make or break a candidate,” said Thomas Barnes.
On Jan. 4 and 5, a poll of 485 likely Republican voters conducted by ORC International, in conjunction with CNN and TIME, projects former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney to maintain his position as the front runner with 37 percent of the vote.
Rick Santorum placed second with 19 percent, Newt Gingrich third with 18 percent, Ron Paul fourth with 12 percent, Rick Perry fifth with five percent, and John Huntsman finishing last with one percent. The same poll shows that 49 percent of voters may change their minds. 44 percent say they will definitely support their chosen candidate and the remaining seven percent have no opinion.
However, a more recent poll conducted by Insider Advantage/Majority Opinion Research for the Augusta Chronicle shows a much tighter race. The telephone survey of 726 likely primary voters suggests Romney only holds 23 percent of the vote, while Gingrich, Santorum, Paul, Perry, and Hunstman claim 21,14, 13, seven, and five percent of the vote respectively.
So far, the ostensibly clear front runner is Mitt Romney. Two consecutive wins in Iowa and New Hampshire have granted Romney some bragging rights being that he was the first non-incumbent Republican to win both of the critical states. Also, the results in Iowa were a virtual tie between Romney and Santorum with Santorum finishing second by eight votes to Romney.
Ron Paul, whose anti-establishment message resonates strongly with the 18 to 29-year-old demographic, is still vigilant in his campaign as he placed third with 21 percent in Iowa and second with 23 percent in New Hampshire and the number of supporters continues to increase.
“He [Ron Paul] wants to remove our occupations from other countries, end the Fed, and end the drug war. This is the correct path for us to walk. Those that vote for the rest are voting for four more years of Obama, but just in a different body,” said Old Dominion University Senior Devon Mizelle.
Numbers for Gingrich have decreased, possibly from a number of attack ads released by his opponents calling him a “serial hypocrite.” Gingrich countered with a new attitude, maintaining a calm and collected disposition rather than waging war.
Although Jeff Musselman, senior in political science at ODU, is an avid Ron Paul supporter, he noted the significance attack ads can have on a candidates campaign.
“With media so focused on soundbites rather than substance, effective attack ads can have a detrimental effect on the viability of a candidate. With a large spread of undecided voters, people will respond to attacks over a candidate’s record, particularly if it shows them in too liberal a light,” said Musselman
Gingrich says he will do all he can to make transparent Romney’s moderate views.
“I may define the reality of the Reagan conservative and the Massachusetts moderate,” Gingrich said. “And the stark difference between cutting taxes and raising taxes. And of being right-to-life and putting Planned Parenthood in Romneycare. But I don’t get this ‘go after’ stuff. You don’t need to do that.”
Strict social conservative Rick Santorum did well in Iowa but doesn’t seem to have gathered much traction elsewhere. Ron Paul recently released a new ad citing Rick Santorum as the sixth most corrupt person in Washington according to a 2006 report by the “Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington.” The group made the claim based on the amount of money he accepted from lobbyists.
Paul also claimed at the ABC hosted debate in New Hampshire on Jan. 7 that Santorum is “a big government, big spending individual because he preached the fact that he wanted the balanced budget amendment but voted to raise the debt ceiling five times.”
John Hunstman’s choice to ignore Iowa and put all his eggs into the basket of New Hampshire was reflected in his measly one percent. Placing third in New Hampshire, the former governor of Utah remains hopeful but there doesn’t appear to be much of a future for him in the remaining months of campaigns.
Likewise, Rick Perry continues his campaign with enthusiasm despite his low poll numbers. After Iowa, he returned to Texas to rethink his campaign and plans to make his mark in South Carolina.
The southern tier is known for its conservative support and is vital in securing the nomination. South Carolina will play a pivotal role in distinguishing which candidate will likely win the nomination to challenge Barack Obama’s hold of office.
