Goodbye, Iowa. Hello, New Hampshire.
Today, the GOP primary campaign shifts from the Hawkeye to the Granite state, after Romney’s 8-vote win in Iowa. Here are the 10 things you need to know.
- McCain to travel to New Hampshire to endorse Romney: John McCain, who beat Mitt Romney in New Hampshire in 2008, will travel to the Granite State Wednesday to endorse Romney. This is a huge endorsement and could help Romney further construct his image as the ‘inevitable nominee.’
- Romney takes victory lap on morning news shows: Reading the results in Iowa shows both Romney’s strengths and weaknesses. On Good Morning America Wednesday, George Stephanopoulos discussed those results with Romney: he won in more urban counties but lost the rural ones — even counties he won in 2008. And voters who wanted a true conservative went with Paul or Santorum, while voters who prioritized beating President Obama picked Romney. Romney is acting like the winner, however, continuing to attack President Obama.
- Will Iowa finish boost Santorum in New Hampshire?: The question for Rick Santorum is if he can indeed convert his Iowa showing into momentum in New Hampshire. A CNN poll showed a small uptick for Santorum among Iowa caucus-watchers, from 5% to 10%. He has a lot of ground to make up in the state, however, given Romney’s at 43% there. The poll showed the Iowa caucus results didn’t change New Hamphire voters’ opinions of any other candidates.
- As we pivot to New Hampshire, Romney has huge lead: Mitt Romney remains firmly in control in the first primary state with the latest poll from Suffolk University/7News giving him 43% of the vote. This is the first time Jon Huntsman has placed third, with 10%. He needs to do something quick if he wants to have an impact. Santorum, who will try to bring his momentum to NH, was at 5% before the Iowa caucuses.
- Perry is rethinking his run: Rick Perry had planned to move straight to campaigning in South Carolina on Wednesday. Instead, he is heading back to Texas to rethink his plan to stay in the race after a disappointing fifth place finish “with a little prayer and reflection.”
- Rumors Bachmann may drop out of race: Though Bachmann gave an uplifting speech to supporters Tuesday night, sources told the Associated Press that she was being encouraged by top advisors to drop out of the race after her 6th place finish. Could Iowa have eliminated one, possibly two candidates?
- Pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC prepares attacks on Romney: After a 4th place finish in Iowa, pro-Newt super PAC Winning Our Future is preparing to go negative against Romney. Prepare for a nasty ad war in the days ahead: “We’re going to define Mitt Romney… Seventy-five per cent of our party does not want him,” an advisor to the PAC said.
- Newt takes the fight to New Hampshire with new ad: Newt Gingrich’s campaign has a full page ad in New Hampshire’s Union Leader today, comparing himself against Mitt Romney. In two columns, the ad depicts Newt as the true, Reagan-style conservative and compares the candidates’ records. Newt’s New Hampshire bus tour starts today.
- Democrats claim they won in Iowa: The Obama camp is pushing the message that they — not Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney — won in Iowa: With over 25,000 voters turning out to caucus for Obama, “We knew that the Iowa caucus was an opportunity to test our campaign organization and expand our volunteer base as we move toward November, and we’re overwhelmed with the results.”
- DNC says Republicans emerge weaker after Iowa caucuses: Messaging coming from the DNC and Obama campaign says that the GOP field is weaker after Iowa. An email to supporters from Campaign Manager Jim Messina claimed that the virtual three-way tie means voters “couldn’t decisively get behind anyone.” But the field is also weaker, argues a Priorities USA Action memo, because the candidates embraced the Tea Party’s agenda which will hurt them overall.
