Romney Becomes the Candidate to Beat
The decision by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to stay out of the race for the Republican presidential candidate means that the GOP field could be - and Mitt Romney remains the candidate to beat.
The brash and charismatic governor was the last Republican who threatened to siphon dollars and references to Romney's campaign, but with little time for new candidates to enter the main race, Romney is now the default in the Republican establishment.
While other candidates have pushed each other for the honor of being the next big thing the Republican Party, Romney's campaign kept a constant eye on the long road ahead to build a campaign organization and a donor network designed to survive the primaries.
As the last candidate left standing facilities - after escaping Christie offers potential and Indiana, Mitch Daniels, Governor Tim Pawlenty out, is the race and see the countryside, Jon Huntsman, will not ignite - Romney now has the space to build on his argument that he is the most viable candidate to go head to head against Obama. It also has a porthole in the back permanently now, as the opponents try to remind conservative Republican voters why they have not united around Romney.
Almost immediately after the decision by Christie to give up a race was announced, it became clear that major donors Republicans who had hoped an alternative to Romney is now ready to get behind the former governor of Massachusetts. Billionaire venture capitalist and founder of Home Depot Ken Langone, who aggressively pushed Christie to enter the presidential race, threw his support behind Romney, yesterday, hours after the announcement of Christie. Sources told CBS News that Romney camp has begun efforts to woo donors Christies on Tuesday morning, even before Christie has officially announced its decision.
CBSNews.com Special Report: Elections 2012
Romney can point in the political calendar to prove it is unlikely to see new competitors - candidates have until October 28 on the ballot for the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucus may arrive early just after the new year . Sarah Palin has yet to make a decision, but is unlikely to attract the same voters for Romney.
Polls show the race is down to a battle between Romney and a center of anti-Romney. Romney consistently polls around 20 percent, while the other candidates continue to shuffle places. CBS News poll in late businessman Herman Cain has emerged as a competitor best Romney, former governor of attaching it to 17 percent. Texas Governor Rick Perry, meanwhile, had the support of 12 percent - even though two weeks ago, Perry eclipsed Romney with 23 percent support. Perry was before Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Conservative candidate at the moment.
Even if no other candidate seems to be stable, strong support, Romney is worried that he failed to bring down more than about 25 percent of Republicans support of the national vote. Voters could still easily be convinced that conservatives prefer more charismatic calculated Romney campaign.
Perry has made some missteps in recent weeks, providing poor debate performance and make some controversial statements, but his impressive fundraising figures for the third quarter, revealing his campaign has the resources to rebound - and to attack against Romney.
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| Romney Becomes the Candidate to Beat |
The brash and charismatic governor was the last Republican who threatened to siphon dollars and references to Romney's campaign, but with little time for new candidates to enter the main race, Romney is now the default in the Republican establishment.
While other candidates have pushed each other for the honor of being the next big thing the Republican Party, Romney's campaign kept a constant eye on the long road ahead to build a campaign organization and a donor network designed to survive the primaries.
As the last candidate left standing facilities - after escaping Christie offers potential and Indiana, Mitch Daniels, Governor Tim Pawlenty out, is the race and see the countryside, Jon Huntsman, will not ignite - Romney now has the space to build on his argument that he is the most viable candidate to go head to head against Obama. It also has a porthole in the back permanently now, as the opponents try to remind conservative Republican voters why they have not united around Romney.
Almost immediately after the decision by Christie to give up a race was announced, it became clear that major donors Republicans who had hoped an alternative to Romney is now ready to get behind the former governor of Massachusetts. Billionaire venture capitalist and founder of Home Depot Ken Langone, who aggressively pushed Christie to enter the presidential race, threw his support behind Romney, yesterday, hours after the announcement of Christie. Sources told CBS News that Romney camp has begun efforts to woo donors Christies on Tuesday morning, even before Christie has officially announced its decision.
CBSNews.com Special Report: Elections 2012
Romney can point in the political calendar to prove it is unlikely to see new competitors - candidates have until October 28 on the ballot for the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucus may arrive early just after the new year . Sarah Palin has yet to make a decision, but is unlikely to attract the same voters for Romney.
Polls show the race is down to a battle between Romney and a center of anti-Romney. Romney consistently polls around 20 percent, while the other candidates continue to shuffle places. CBS News poll in late businessman Herman Cain has emerged as a competitor best Romney, former governor of attaching it to 17 percent. Texas Governor Rick Perry, meanwhile, had the support of 12 percent - even though two weeks ago, Perry eclipsed Romney with 23 percent support. Perry was before Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Conservative candidate at the moment.
Even if no other candidate seems to be stable, strong support, Romney is worried that he failed to bring down more than about 25 percent of Republicans support of the national vote. Voters could still easily be convinced that conservatives prefer more charismatic calculated Romney campaign.
Perry has made some missteps in recent weeks, providing poor debate performance and make some controversial statements, but his impressive fundraising figures for the third quarter, revealing his campaign has the resources to rebound - and to attack against Romney.
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