As the Republican presidential primaries continue this week, each of the four candidates is trying to win the appeal of a fickle electorate.
GOP voters have so far struggled to coalesce around a nominee, and each candidate has experienced fleeting momentum. But Mitt Romney could stake his claim for the nomination this week with strong showings in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.
Romney, fresh off wins in Florida and Nevada, has been called the most electable candidate in a hypothetical race against President Barack Obama. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have also achieved signature wins in South Carolina and Iowa, respectively, and either could present a challenge to Romney if they unify the party’s conservative base.
Surveys conducted by Public Policy Polling, a left-leaning organization based in Raleigh, indicate a 14 percentage point lead for Romney over the next closest candidate, Santorum, in Colorado. Santorum holds a slight edge in Minnesota with 29 percent of the respondents’ support compared to 27 percent for Romney, 22 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul.
Everett Lozzi, co-president of Youth for Ron Paul, said that Paul’s strong finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire are evidence that his wide appeal and support could still enable him to usurp Romney as the frontrunner.
“Romney is not appealing to Democrats or Independents, certainly not as appealing as Paul. People say he’s unelectable but when you put him against Romney he does well,” Lozzi said.
With more states adopting a proportional rather than a winner-take-all delegate approach in this primary cycle, Lozzi said he’s hopeful that Paul will win enough delegates to have influence during the party’s convention.
“Especially if nobody gets enough delegates, Paul will definitely become a kingmaker,” Lozzi said.
“It’s about the future; now he wipes the floor with the under 30 vote against Republicans. In 10 to 20 years this may be the new Republican Party,” Lozzi said.
Greg Steele, chairman of the UNC College Republicans, said that, although it’s still early in the race, it’s no surprise that Romney has been gaining momentum.
“Given the economy, unemployment and students’ situation with tuition, it’s a difficult time. All the candidates bring something different to the table,” Steele said.
Austin Gilmore, president of the UNC Young Democrats, said the Republican primary is still a state-by-state struggle.
Gilmore noted that there is a lack of unified support for a single Republican candidate, something that could detract support from Romney.
“Romney would make it interesting, especially if the economy’s numbers don’t get better,” Gilmore said.
Obama has to get back in campaign mode in order to generate the level of support he had in 2008, Gilmore said.
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