Atlanta’s turn in the political spotlight was short-circuited Thursday when CNN canceled the city’s planned March 1 Republican primary debate after two of the four major candidates said they would not participate.
The debate was to be the last before Super Tuesday, March 6, when Georgia and nine other states vote and would be a joint operation of the Georgia and Ohio Republican parties. But after Mitt Romney and Ron Paul said they had other plans, Atlanta-based CNN called off the event.
“Without full participation of all four candidates, CNN will not move forward with the Super Tuesday debate,” CNN said in a statement that noted there will be one more debate next week in Arizona.
The decision is a blow to Atlanta and the Georgia GOP and to Newt Gingrich, the former U.S. House speaker and Georgia congressman who has used the campaign’s 20 debates to bolster his now-wounded bid for the presidential nomination. The debate would have given voters in those 10 Super Tuesday states one more chance to hear from the candidates in the days before the elections.
The decision is risky for Romney, the former Massachussetts governor who has struggled to connect with some conservative voters. The cancellation also could also hurt Rick Santorum, the new front-runner in some polls, whose underfunded campaign couldbenefit from the free air time.
However, Santorum’s campaign said earlier Thursday it had also not committed to the debate and had not made a decision whether to participate.
Speaking in California after Romney’s decision became public, but before CNN made its decision, Gingrich said he was committed to the Atlanta event.
“The Romney model is go to Wall Street and raise huge amounts of money to run negative ads, and you can understand why having to defend that strategy is probably not something he’s very happy about,” Gingrich told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Later, on Twitter, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond was more direct. “Mitt Romney spits in Georgia’s face and cancels Atlanta debate appearance,” Hammond tweeted.
Georgia Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart said she was “deeply disappointed.” The candidates’ decision, Everhart said, to “forego an opportunity to address our state’s Republican primary voters, as well as voters across the nation, in a debate just before Super Tuesday is truly disheartening.”
In Ohio, on the other hand, Republican Party spokesman Chris Maloney said officials are not disappointed that the dual-state debate was canceled. Ohio participants were to have asked questions remotely.
He said the party would rather have the candidates “here in Ohio at Lincoln Day dinners and in rallies in person than in a debate in Georgia . . . That is the retail politicking Ohioans are accustomed to and what we’ll be seeing during the days and weeks ahead.”
Kennesaw State University political scientist Kerwin Swint said Romney’s decision is puzzling. Romney won 30 percent of the vote in Georgia’s 2008 Republican presidential primary, and polls showed him running strong in metro Atlanta. He has raised more money than any other candidate in Georgia and campaigned here last week.
“I don’t see how they can expect to win Georgia and not participate in a debate held in Atlanta,” Swint, a former Republican strategist, said. “It may also be a sign that they’re ceding Georgia to Gingrich.”
If the move signals that Romney will focus his efforts elsewhere, it’s even more of a head-scratcher, Swint said. Georgia’s 76 delegates -- the most of any state voting March 6 -- will be awarded on a proportional basis. Three will be available from each of the 14 congressional districts and 31 will be awarded on a statewide basis to candidates based on vote totals.
In other words, Romney is almost assured of walking away from Georgia with at least some delegates.
Romney’s campaign, however, said it is not surrendering the state or its delegates.
“Gov. Romney will be spending a lot of time campaigning in Georgia and Ohio ahead of Super Tuesday,” Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said. “ . . .we will be campaigning in other parts of the country and unable to schedule the CNN Georgia debate.”
Liz Carter of Gwinnett County, a former Republican congressional candidate, said Romney can still compete in Georgia.
“Romney has, just like he has for the rest of the country, a base of business leaders who understand we need someone with executive experience who can do a turnaround,” Carter said.
Romney and Paul were smart, she said, not to debate Gingrich in his old backyard.
“Why would you step into a situation where either of those candidates could get very slanted questions or just have a circus?” Carter said. “It’s a set-up for Santorum or Newt.”
Jay Hanley, chairman of the Oconee County GOP, said it’s an insult.
“I felt it as a huge snub and like a slap in the race,” Hanley said, adding the decision won’t help Romney in his county east of Atlanta.
“It seemed to be close between Gingrich and Romney here,” Hanley said. “I was a former [Rick] Perry supporter who was leaning towards Romney. Romney pulling out (of the debate) has made me rethink my choice again.”
Jade Morey of Atlanta, a Gingrich supporter, said it seems like a calculated move to avoid sharing a national stage with Gingrich.
“It does not go unnoticed that they are writing off Georgia and avoiding debating Newt Gingrich in front of millions of voters,” Morey said.
Meanwhile, Georgia Democrats were enjoying the chaos on the Republican side. “What happens when Georgia Republicans try to hold a debate and no one shows up?” the party’s Twitter feed said.
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