A new Majority Opinion Research poll finds Newt Gingrich leading Mitt Romney, 32% to 23%, followed by Herman Cain at 14%, Ron Paul at 6%, Rick Perry 5%, Michele Bachmann 4%, Jon Huntsman 3%, “someone else” at 4%, and no opinion at 11%.
If Gingrich wins Iowa, he will be the nominee. Hahahahahahaha. It is so beautiful a thought that tears are coming to my eyes. With just 36 days until the Iowa caucuses, First Read sums up the state of the race:
“1) Mitt Romney remains the overall favorite — with his money, campaign staff, and poll position — but he hasn’t been able to pull away from the field, and he’s a TV ad away from being all-in in Iowa; 2) Newt Gingrich, fresh off from his New Hampshire Union Leader endorsement, has emerged as the latest Romney alternative, but the question is whether he can survive the next 36 days; (none of the OTHER anti-Romneys has lasted longer); 3) Rick Perry’s campaign appears stuck in neutral, though he did receive an endorsement from controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio; 4) Ron Paul keeps on doing his thing, and is enlisting college students to help out his Iowa ground game; 5) Herman Cain is trying to bounce back from his foreign-policy stumbles and those sexual-harassment allegations; and 6) with all the twists and turns that we’ve seen so far, the next five weeks (and beyond) promise to be a wild ride.”
“Bottom line: We don’t know how Romney is denied the nomination, but we also don’t know how he gets there, yet.
A true shame: Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) will not run for re-election for a 17th term. He’ll hold a press conference at 1 pm ET to discuss his decision. The Boston Globe reports that “the new district in which Frank would have had to run next year was a major factor in his decision. While it retained his Newton stronghold, it was revised to encompass more conservative towns while Frank also lost New Bedford, a blue-collar city where had invested a lot of time and become a leading figure in the region’s fisheries debate.” Barney Frank had a quick wit and was truly unafraid of taking the fight to the Republicans, unlike many Democratic cowards in Congress. He will be missed.