It’s come to this.
In the wake of Herman Cain’s multiple sexual harassment accusations, the media narrative of Romney-the-Inevitable has continued to grow. But it seems the anti-Mitt crowd is continuing to grasp for other choices. The latest alternative?
Newt Gingrich.
Months ago, many declared Gingrich’s campaign dead barely after it had begun, when he criticized Paul Ryan’s medicare-killing house budget, and lost his top campaign staffers in a major shakeup. But polls released Friday suggest growing momentum.
Let’s review the mounting evidence, shall we?
A national CBS News poll shows Gingrich as the choice of 15% of GOP voters, tied with Mitt Romney and three points behind Herman Cain, who is slipping.
A national McClatchy/Marist poll shows Gingrich in second place with 19% of the vote — four points behind Romney. Also notable is that 43% of Gingrich’s supporters say they are firmly committed to his candidacy — compared to 30% for Romney, and 31% for Cain. In total, only 30% of voters supporting a candidate say they are firmly committed. Gingrich’s higher-than-average floor of support could prove significant moving forward.
Gingrich’s numbers are also seeing movement at the state level. An Insider Advantage poll in South Carolina shows major momentum in a crucial early primary. Gingrich is in 2nd place with 18.9% of the vote, compared to Cain’s 25.6%. By comparison, Insider Advantage’s previous South Carolina poll showed Gingrich in fourth place with 8% of the vote, compared to Rick Perry’s 12%, Romney’s 16%, and Cain’s 32%.
Gingrich’s movement in Insider Advantage’s recent Iowa poll is less extreme: As in Insider Advantage’s previous poll of the state, Gingrich is in third place, this time with 14.5% of the vote, up from 12.1%.
Just over a week ago, Gingrich predicted the primary would “end up being Mitt and Newt” — and many chuckled. It doesn’t seem so funny now.
Brace yourselves, folks. Newt Gingrich may be on the verge of seizing the national spotlight.
