As Republican-supporting Super PACs spend millions to keep their candidates in the presidential primary race, key Republicans are circling the wagons around Mitt Romney in hopes that Super Tuesday victories will create an air of inevitability as polls show the GOP suffering in public opinion polls from a protracted fight.
Super PACs have been central to preventing
Romney from running away with the nomination despite a 111-delegate lead
above closest rival Rick Santorum. Newt Gingrich has acquired 33 delegates while Ron Paul has 25. Tuesday's contests will award 419 delegates. and 1,144 are needed to win the nomination.
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Four primary PACs have picked a winner in
the GOP nomination. Romney is backed by Restore Our Future PAC. Gingrich
has benefited from air time and advertising paid for with millions
given by the Winning Our Future PAC. Santorum has received a windfall
from spending by the Red, White and Blue Fund PAC and Paul has the aid
of the Endorse Liberty PAC.
According to records from Opensecret.org and calculated by TheStreet.com, the four PACs spent $5.9 million between Feb. 29 and March 4 ahead of the Super Tuesday contests.
The money has paid a big role in keeping the
Not Romney candidates afloat, but the surge in cash has taken its toll
on both wallets and the candidates' favorability ratings.
According to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll
out Monday, 40 percent of adults -- including 23 percent of Republicans
surveyed -- say the GOP contest has made them feel less favorable about
the party while just 12 percent say they now have a more favorable
impression. Forty-seven percent say it has not affected them.
The poll also showed that Romney has been
hurt by the ongoing battle. In the Feb. 29-March 3 poll of 800 adults,
28 percent had a favorable rating while 39 percent were unfavorable.
That's down from a 31-36 favorable/unfavorable rating taken in January.
At the same time, Romney is rising in Ohio, the critical battleground of Tuesday's vote. A Quinnipiac University poll
gave Romney 34 percent of the vote among likely Republican primary
participants compared to 31 percent for Santorum, who was leading by 7
points just a week ago.
He credited his upswing in the state on
focusing on the most important issues. "I'll focus on getting good jobs
and less debt and smaller government. Again, that's what I know. During
this campaign there's been discussion about all sorts of issues, but I
keep bringing it back to more jobs, less debt and smaller government.
That's what my campaign is about. That's why I’m doing well in this
state," he told voters in Canton, Ohio, on Monday.
Romney has also won critical endorsements from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative members of the Senate. On Monday, John Ashcroft, attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and a former Missouri senator, threw his support behind Romney.
"No other candidate stands out for his
executive leadership experience or ability to accomplish difficult task
as does Mitt Romney," he said.
Santorum has warned that it will take more
than cash to declare victory against President Obama, who endorsed the
concept of super PACs last month after saying he didn't want the contest
to be bought.
"Whoever our Republican nominee is, isn't going to outspend Barack Obama 6: or 7: or 8 to 1 to win an election. They are going to have to win this election being outspent," Santorum said Sunday.
"Governor Romney has never won a state in
this country where he was outspent. Think about that. Every state that
he has won he has outspent his opponent at least four or five to one and
he's barely won," Santorum said.
Santorum and Gingrich have both claimed in
past contests that they've been outspent by the Romney campaign by 8:1.
And a weekend tally by The Associated Press found that of the $75
million spent in the GOP race so far, $40 million was from Romney or his
surrogates.
The investment appears to be paying off.
Romney won the Washington state caucuses easily on Saturday, solidifying
his lead on top of victories in Arizona and his home state of Michigan
last week.
On Tuesday, Romney will have a natural
advantage in northeastern states such as Vermont and Massachusetts,
where he was governor, a point Santorum noted as he campaigned for votes
in Oklahoma.
"I don't have my home state up on Super
Tuesday like Congressman Gingrich or Governor Romney -- although
Governor Romney has about five home states, I don't know how that works,
but I don’t live that kind of life."
With Gingrich looking to win his home state of Georgia,
the largest prize on Tuesday with 76 delegates, and Santorum taking
Oklahoma and Tennessee, where his lead has shrunk against Romney in
closing days, the race could go on for a while.
But if Romney can pick up the crucial win in
Ohio, and score decisively in other states where he's not native, the
long haul favorite may just be on track to wrap up the contest, even if
the other candidates are well funded enough to stay in the race. He said
if that happens, he can start focusing on the Obama "juggernaut."
"The process may be long. It may be slow,
but he's raising millions of dollars every month and has an
organization, I'm told -- someone told me yesterday -- that he has 491
members of his staff, in his campaign staff," he said. "This is a huge
juggernaut effort. And we're going to have to make sure that we push
back against that kind of machine."
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