Should Newt Gingrich Drop Out? >
Gingrich Has Virtually No Chance of Winning
The best way for Gingrich to get revenge on Romney may be to step aside
March 14, 2012
About Ron Bonjean:
Ron Bonjean is a partner with Singer Bonjean Strategies and the owner of the Bonjean Company, both full service public affairs firms. He was chief of staff for the Senate Republican Conference under Sen. Jon Kyl.
While former Sen. Rick Santorum claimed victory in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday evening, defying the expectations and money spent by the Romney campaign, former Gov. Mitt Romney actually came out on top with delegates. Romney won 41 delegates compared to 35 for Santorum, 24 for Gingrich, and one for Ron Paul, according to ABC News' tally. (Several delegates in Alabama and Hawaii were yet to be allocated as of Wednesday morning.)
[See a collection of political cartoons on Newt Gingrich.]
If Santorum wants to really run a competitive race against Romney for delegates, Gingrich must exit the race. And there are media reports calling now calling the Romney/Santorum competition a "two-man race." Just look at the overall delegate count: Mitt Romney has 495; Rick Santorum has 252; Newt Gingrich has 131; and Ron Paul has 48 delegates. If Gingrich wasn't in the race, it is likely those voters would go to Santorum and he would have 383 delegates. This would be at least within some type of striking range to take on Romney.
However, in order to make it so, Gingrich will have to step aside. And the former speaker has announced he is going to attempt to compete all the way to the GOP convention. The Mississippi and Alabama returns only encouraged Gingrich because he came in second place and beat Romney.
[Opinion: The Weakest Presidential Field in History?]
With virtually no chance to win, this simply looks like a Gingrich revenge race against Romney's negative attacks on the former speaker early in the primary contests. Ironically, for Gingrich to take out Romney he may simply have to step aside. And there is no way the former speaker will step down twice on a major national stage during his career.
- Join the debate on Facebook.
- Follow U.S. News Debate Club on Twitter.
- Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy.
- Other Arguments
-
#17130
No — Newt Gingrich brings the race attention and enthusiasm, which will help the GOP in November
JAMIE CHANDLER, Professor at Hunter College
-
#27338
Yes — Rick Santorum has earned the right for this to be a two-man race
FORD O'CONNELL, Republican Strategist, Conservative Activist, and Political Analyst
-
#33711
Yes — Best case scenario is that Gingrich might be able to play kingmaker at a deadlocked convention
MATTHEW DICKINSON, Professor at Middlebury College
-
#52924
No — Gingrich's only shot is to force a floor fight in Tampa
DAVID CROCKETT, Author of 'Running Against the Grain: How Opposition Candidates Win Presidential Elections'
-
#62218
No — Newt Gingrich has no self-interested reason to drop out just yet
LARA BROWN, Author of 'Jockeying for the American Presidency: The Political Opportunism of Aspirants'
-
#71120
No — If Rick Santorum loses to Mitt Romney, it's his own fault, not Newt Gingrich's
KRYSTAL BALL, MSNBC Contributor and Former Democratic Nominee for Congress in the First District of Virginia
-
#81727
No — The only way to stop a Romney nomination is for Gingrich to stay in the race
JUDSON PHILLIPS, Founder of Tea Party Nation
