(Image source: www.newt.org)
BY ERICA COGHILL
They’re calling it Newt-mentum...
Some recent polls show GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich is movin’ on up.
FOX News has details on those polling results....
“In the latest CBS News-NY Times poll we’re looking at a virtual 3-way tie. Herman Cain hanging on to a small lead at 18% with Mitt Romney and Gingrich tied for second place at 15%.”
“A McClatchy poll just came out today, and just in case you think the CBS one is an outlier and the McClatchy poll although it is a a smaller sample a similar result, it shows Romney at 23%, Gingrich at second at 19%, Cain at third with 17%.”
19% is quite the jump for Gingrich who was in the single digits in September and October polls.
But why the sudden surge in support? Notable historian Richard Norton Smith weighs in on C-SPAN...
“There's clearly an anyone but Romney, fairly substantial, probably majority at this point, according to the polls, who would like someone or at least who would like an alternative to Governor Romney.”
“Gingrich is seen as someone who is about ideas, has a lot of ideas, intellectual energy, a conservative, but not always a predictive conservative.”
Meanwhile, MSNBC takes a look at the poll numbers of some of Gingrich’s closest contenders: Rick Perry and Herman Cain.
“Texas Gov. Rick Perry's stumble this week at a debate only seemed to underscore the concerns about his debating skills that had already contributed to poor poll numbers. And while Cain is still riding high in the polls, internal polling cited Thursday by the Associated Press suggests that his numbers have begun to tumble in Iowa, amid a string of sexual harassment allegations against the former Godfather's Pizza CEO.”
A blogger for the conservative blog Hot Air says while he may not be leading the polls right now, Gingrich currently has the strongest support among the top three GOP candidates.
“Forty-three percent of his followers strongly support Gingrich. That figure is only 31% for Cain and 30% for Romney. Only 22% of Gingrich supports say they may vote differently, as opposed to 25% for Romney and 28% for Cain. [Gingrich’s] second wind looks legitimate — and [he] is experienced enough to keep from stepping on his momentum.”
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And, as a Washington Post blogger points out, Herman Cain’s sexual harassment allegations seem to only be helping Gingrich’s number.
“...For all the talk about the sexual harassment charges not hurting Cain, they are. The drop from 28 percent to 15 percent among women is huge. I suspect that his juvenile (and, yes, sexist) “Princess Nancy” comment about House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi won’t help him on this front, and Cain’s later expression of regrets won’t help him much.”
