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Today, the months of travel, debates, pork chops on a stick and the thrills and chills of an Iowa campaign that often resembled an out-of-control roller coaster come to an end.Continue Reading
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Caucus-goers finally get their say — and the candidates have to accept their verdict.
Though not totally. Inside the headquarters of each of the GOP presidential hopefuls — and inside the sleep-deprived minds of the candidates themselves — there is a theory of the case for how each of them is launched to a path to the Republican nomination by either placing strongly in the caucus results or simply by surviving to fight another day.
Whether through Iowa glory or gutting it out to New Hampshire and/or South Carolina, each candidate has a path forward in mind. Here’s POLITICO’s look, from our own team of political road warriors, at how all seven major GOP candidates are gaming out their best-case plans for Iowa and their post-caucuses spin.
Mitt Romney
Romney told CBS Monday that he feels like he’ll do well enough in Iowa to get a significant “boost” — and that level of confidence from a candidate who has had bad dreams about Iowa for four years points to the way to a pretty simple road out of Des Moines.
Finish strong — maybe even win — and head to the friendly confines of New Hampshire softly repeating the following mantra: “Mitt Romney is an adult who is running to actually be president … Mitt Romney is an adult who is running … “
While other candidates have been engulfed in dramas petty and significant, swung wildly off message and altered their focus, Romney has, from the campaign’s launch, stuck hard to his message of being an economic fixer who is serious enough to be elected.
In the campaign’s closing week, Romney and his surrogates have relentlessly reminded Iowans that he is the only Republican who can beat President Barack Obama.
By arranging for capacity crowds at each of his events in the closing days, the Romney campaign has created a sense of building momentum, presenting his nomination as an almost foregone conclusion.
Still, Romney and his aides have insisted he doesn’t have to win Iowa, that he isn’t confident about winning Iowa and that his focus is on winning delegates for a long primary campaign.
And with enough money to continue the campaign regardless of his Iowa finish, Romney’s future doesn’t depend on his placement Tuesday night. In part, that has liberated him from running an Iowa-specific campaign.
But it’s obvious to all closely monitoring the race that Romney is pushing hard to win the caucuses, then win New Hampshire’s primary by a big margin Jan. 10 and effectively seal the nomination by the middle of the month.
It’s a recipe for victory either way: If Romney wins Tuesday night, he goes into New Hampshire with the feeling of a winner. If Ron Paul or Rick Santorum wins, Romney faces an Iowa winner who’s not a long-term threat.
All Romney has to do is hold on and not make mistakes.
Ron Paul
His rivals say he won’t win the Republican nomination but in Iowa Ron Paul has a visible path to victory, cleared by his strong organization, fervent supporters and financial backing. And a top three Iowa finish would seem to ensure that Paul gets the role he has always wanted — major player within the party who will be a force to be dealt with at the convention in Tampa and beyond.
Paul has been building an organization here for nearly five years, seeded by supporters of his 2008 presidential campaign who have kept the ground primed for a Paul resurgence as they waited for their candidate to agree to run again. Now, hundreds of young volunteers are on the ground knocking on doors and handing out leaflets to shore up more support for him.
Today, the months of travel, debates, pork chops on a stick and the thrills and chills of an Iowa campaign that often resembled an out-of-control roller coaster come to an end.Continue Reading
Text Size
-+reset
Caucus-goers finally get their say — and the candidates have to accept their verdict.
Though not totally. Inside the headquarters of each of the GOP presidential hopefuls — and inside the sleep-deprived minds of the candidates themselves — there is a theory of the case for how each of them is launched to a path to the Republican nomination by either placing strongly in the caucus results or simply by surviving to fight another day.
Whether through Iowa glory or gutting it out to New Hampshire and/or South Carolina, each candidate has a path forward in mind. Here’s POLITICO’s look, from our own team of political road warriors, at how all seven major GOP candidates are gaming out their best-case plans for Iowa and their post-caucuses spin.
Mitt Romney
Romney told CBS Monday that he feels like he’ll do well enough in Iowa to get a significant “boost” — and that level of confidence from a candidate who has had bad dreams about Iowa for four years points to the way to a pretty simple road out of Des Moines.
Finish strong — maybe even win — and head to the friendly confines of New Hampshire softly repeating the following mantra: “Mitt Romney is an adult who is running to actually be president … Mitt Romney is an adult who is running … “
While other candidates have been engulfed in dramas petty and significant, swung wildly off message and altered their focus, Romney has, from the campaign’s launch, stuck hard to his message of being an economic fixer who is serious enough to be elected.
In the campaign’s closing week, Romney and his surrogates have relentlessly reminded Iowans that he is the only Republican who can beat President Barack Obama.
By arranging for capacity crowds at each of his events in the closing days, the Romney campaign has created a sense of building momentum, presenting his nomination as an almost foregone conclusion.
Still, Romney and his aides have insisted he doesn’t have to win Iowa, that he isn’t confident about winning Iowa and that his focus is on winning delegates for a long primary campaign.
And with enough money to continue the campaign regardless of his Iowa finish, Romney’s future doesn’t depend on his placement Tuesday night. In part, that has liberated him from running an Iowa-specific campaign.
But it’s obvious to all closely monitoring the race that Romney is pushing hard to win the caucuses, then win New Hampshire’s primary by a big margin Jan. 10 and effectively seal the nomination by the middle of the month.
It’s a recipe for victory either way: If Romney wins Tuesday night, he goes into New Hampshire with the feeling of a winner. If Ron Paul or Rick Santorum wins, Romney faces an Iowa winner who’s not a long-term threat.
All Romney has to do is hold on and not make mistakes.
Ron Paul
His rivals say he won’t win the Republican nomination but in Iowa Ron Paul has a visible path to victory, cleared by his strong organization, fervent supporters and financial backing. And a top three Iowa finish would seem to ensure that Paul gets the role he has always wanted — major player within the party who will be a force to be dealt with at the convention in Tampa and beyond.
Paul has been building an organization here for nearly five years, seeded by supporters of his 2008 presidential campaign who have kept the ground primed for a Paul resurgence as they waited for their candidate to agree to run again. Now, hundreds of young volunteers are on the ground knocking on doors and handing out leaflets to shore up more support for him.
