WASHINGTON – With Rick Santorum out of the Republican presidential field, clearing a path to the nomination for Mitt Romney, the fight to become the party’s standard bearer is over, right?
Well, not entirely. Despite the nearly unanimous view that Romney will be US president Barack Obama’s challenger in the autumn, there are still two men – Ron Paul of Texas and Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House – who have not yet agreed. In the face of scorn from their peers, they continue to campaign, even if fewer people are paying attention.
Both men say they were seeking influence over the debate in the autumn and they do not appear to be leaving the race any time soon.
In the hours after Santorum dropped out, Gingrich made it clear that he had no intention of doing the same. He said in a statement that he was committed to staying in the race all the way to the Republican national convention in Tampa, Florida, in August, “so that the conservative movement has a real choice”.
"I humbly ask Senator Santorum's supporters to visit Newt.orgto review my conservative record and join us as we bring these values to Tampa," the statement said.
Financial difficulties have forced Gingrich to scale back his activities, essentially ending any formal campaigning for the nomination. (How bad are his finances? His $500 cheque to reserve a place for him on the Utah ballot in June bounced.) He has basically conceded that Romney will become the nominee at the convention.
Gingrich says his continued presence in the race – and at the convention – will help to frame the national political debate in ways that will help Republicans defeat Obama. In an interview on Fox News last week, Gingrich said he would stay in the race because he wanted to “continue to frame a reference here that we are a conservative party”.
That may not sit well with Romney, who would rather shape his own agenda against the president. Yet Gingrich has toned down his language considerably.
Asked about whether Romney would make a good president, he said: “Look, he would make such a better president than Barack Obama that I will campaign for him if he is the nominee, and I’ll campaign for him enthusiastically.”
Paul has indicated from the beginning that he views his 2012 campaign as an effort to build a movement and not just a bid for office. His campaign – buoyed by committed young backers – continues to send supporters to local and state political conventions to try to collect delegates for the party’s national convention. The goal?
According to his campaign manager, he is seeking “a prominent role” at the convention in the hope of making sure the nation continues to hear his criticism of the Federal Reserve, the deficit and the high cost of the nation’s wars.
“Taken together, these victories and those yet to happen forecast a prominent role for Ron Paul at the RNC,” said the campaign manager, John Tate.
“They also signal that the convention will feature a spirited discussion over whether conservatism will triumph over the status quo, all in relation to the endgame of defeating President Obama.”
– (New York Times service)