BON AIR, Va. – Less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses Newt Gingrich is in Virginia.
As his Republican presidential opponents canvass Iowa and learn the finer points of Ottumwa and Oskaloosa, Gingrich spent Wednesday night and Thursday in a state that won't vote until March 6. The reason: he had to make sure his petition signatures were in order by Thursday's deadline to get on the commonwealth's primary ballot.
After railing against President Barack Obama's “radicalism and economic decay” to a few dozen supporters at a rally just outside Richmond, Gingrich thanked them for helping engineer a final sprint for petition signatures.
“I’m thrilled you’re going to give me a chance to explain this here in Virginia, to go across the state and explain this in a primary,” he said.
Gingrich’s campaign is showing strain after a rapid ascent in the polls, as he comes under withering attacks and builds toward a long battle for the nomination. Gingrich has beefed up operations in the key states that vote in January: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. But beyond that, as the Virginia swing showed, he has some work to do.
“It is an absolute embarrassment,” said Larry Sabato, head of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “And proof positive that he did not put the time and effort into constructing a campaign that he should have.”
Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said the campaign submitted more than 12,000 signatures Thursday in order to meet Virginia's 10,000-signature requirement to appear on the primary ballot.
In Arlington on Wednesday, Gingrich said “we had a situation in Virginia 10 days ago where we might not have gotten on the ballot, and you made it possible.”
He attributed this to a quicker than expected ascent.
“We weren’t ready for it yet,” he said. “We didn’t have the structure. We didn’t have the money. … So we had to scramble a little bit.”
The campaign generated some criticism for not getting on the ballot for the Feb. 7 Missouri primary, but it is essentially a show vote as the caucus results a month later count toward GOP convention delegates. In Ohio, the campaign filed signatures once, then the state required all candidates to re-file after moving its primary date up to Super Tuesday. Still, Gingrich aides said they will make the Dec. 30 filing deadline in the Buckeye State without a fuss and are on track for a ballot line everywhere convention delegates are contested.
“When one needs to file signatures in Alaska in February with no more than 10 coming from any one state house district, one better be thinking logistics – and we are,” Gingrich’s national counsel, Stefan Passantino of McKenna Long & Aldridge in Atlanta, wrote in an email.
Said Hammond, “What’s taken others years, we’ve done it in months.”
That is because the Gingrich campaign all but started from scratch last summer, after several aides quit the campaign amid concerns about its direction. Most went to Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Longtime spokesman Rick Tyler remained unaffiliated until this week when he began work with a Gingrich-aligned “Super PAC” – which can raise unlimited money to advertise on his behalf but cannot coordinate with Gingrich.
Tyler said Gingrich and his allies can never catch up to the organization of Romney, who lost the 2008 presidential primary and has essentially been running ever since.
Asked by the AJC why he came to Virginia to file his petitions, Gingrich replied, “I think it’s democracy in action. And you know my chief competitor has lots and lots of money, and we have lots and lots of volunteers. So it’s kind of an interesting matchup of grassroots versus muscle.”
Romney is not the only one working to muscle Gingrich away from the nomination.
“There was absolute panic in Republican circles in D.C. because they understood what [a Gingrich nomination] would mean in coattails,” Sabato said, noting that the unpredictable Gingrich atop the ticket could imperil GOP gains in Congress. “The second reason is in politics everybody has enemies, but it’s a real problem for you when your enemies outnumber your friends about 10 to 1.”
Negative advertising – primarily from Paul and a Romney-aligned Super PAC – has blanketed Iowa. Gingrich has challenged many as “false” and complained about their negative tone, calling on Romney to disavow the negative ads. Gingrich said he wants no attacks from his own Super PAC – and in an interview Tyler promised to heed his former boss.
Speaking to reporters after his event in Bon Air, Gingrich acknowledged “the sheer weight of negativity has a real impact” on his Iowa chances. Paul has assumed the lead in recent polls as the Gingrich surge has waned. On Tuesday Gingrich is launching a 44-stop tour of the state in a final pre-caucus blitz, backed up by what he called a “fairly good advertising campaign.”
Speaking to reporters, Gingrich traced the path of a roller coaster with his hand to describe the race.
“I feel pretty good about how it’s coming together,” he said.
At a Republican Party of Virginia fundraiser Thursday morning he said his goal was to finish in the top four in Iowa, top two in New Hampshire , and win South Carolina and Florida. And, of course, win Virginia on March 6.
To do so he will have to win over voters like Mark and Linda Hoyt, of Burke, Va., who attended the Arlington rally to scrutinize Gingrich for the first time in person as they remain undecided about the GOP field.
Linda Hoyt had her doubts about Gingrich’s three marriages. Mark Hoyt looked askance at Gingrich’s apparent deviations from conservatism consulting for government-backed mortgage lender Freddie Mac and appearing in an ad about climate change with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The latter two have been frequently cited in the anti-Gingrich bombardment.
“If he can survive this, he should be a pretty strong candidate,” Mark Hoyt said, “considering all the stuff that’s been thrown at him.”
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