Go West, young man, go West, wrote famed American politician and journalist Horace Greeley to veterans looking for opportunities after the Civil War. While Greeley should have followed his own advice -- he was buried out west (and the rest of the nation) when he ran against Ulysses S. Grant in the 1872 presidential election -- Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is looking west to salvage his campaign.
While he had been surging in national and state polls after a series of strong debate performances and his win inSouth Carolina, Gingrich has not recovered since facing a barrage of attacks, mostly from Mitt Romney, and fading in the Florida primary.
While polls show Romney leading in Arizona and in a close battle with Rick Santorum in Michigan, both holdingprimaries on Feb. 28, Gingrich is looking to West Coast states to revive his campaign.
With Washington holding its caucus on March 3 with 43 delegates on the line, Gingrich will be hitting the Evergreen State later this week, holding campaign events in Spokane and the Tri-Cities on Thursday before heading over to Puget Sound on Friday.
The Gingrich campaign added to its team in other western states this week when it unveiled new leadership in California and Wyoming.
Bill Jones, who served two terms as California secretary of state, endorsed Gingrich on Tuesday and will be one of the former congressional leaders co-chairs in the Golden State. California will hold its primary on June 5 when 172 delegates will be at stake.
On Monday, former U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, who served under Gingrich in Congress, backed her old boss. She will be Gingrichs chairwoman in Wyoming which holds its caucus on March 10 with 29 delegates on the line.
Newt can change Washington because hes done it before, said Cubin, who served seven terms in the House after being first elected in 1994. He can balance the budget because hes done it before. And he can help the American people create millions of new jobs because hes done it before.
These challenging times call for bold solutions and courageous leadership that Newt has provided in the past and will do again, Cubin added. I believe Newt is the right person at the right time to lead America toward greater economic growth and prosperity, and I encourage my fellow Wyomingites to support him in the upcoming caucus.
Gingrich is not the only Republican presidential hopeful looking to regain some momentum with a strong showing in Washington. Ron Paul has also targeted the Evergreen State in recent days and unveiled the backing of three state GOP party leaders earlier in the week.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
