With less than a week to go until Iowa voters caucus to start the procession of states that will determine which Republican candidate will challenge President Barack Obama in 2012, GOP hopefuls continue to focus on both the Hawkeye State and the Granite State. New Hampshire will hold its primary a week later.
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas ranks as one of the top contenders in Iowa and is continuing to focus there this week, touring the state and holding a rally on Wednesday night in Des Moines to honor veterans.
As we approach the final stretch, the Iowa team welcomes Ron Paul for another consequential visit during which hell interact with voters and host a rally to salute our veterans, said Drew Ivers, Pauls Iowa chairman.
Ivers predicted that his candidate would finish in the top three in the caucus.
Earlier visits by Dr. Paul laid the foundation for a strong top-three showing at the January caucus and this visit promises to build upon it, Ivers said.
Paul campaigned in Newton and West Des Moines on Wednesday before hitting the veterans rally. The congressman also has a full schedule for the rest of the week with events in Des Moines, Perry, Atlantic, Council Bluffs, LeMars and Sioux City.
Another Republican hopeful is also crossing the state this week. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who is floundering in the national polls but has worked the grass-roots extensively in the Hawkeye State, has continued to focus on Iowa, trying to draw social conservatives to the caucus to back his campaign. Santorum toured the Hawkeye State on Tuesday, hitting Fort Dodge, Mason City, Cedar Falls and Waterloo while also making media and radio appearances. The former senator will continue hitting Iowa with appearances all across the state scheduled for the rest of the week.
Looking to ensure that conservatives back his candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is mixing a ground game and an air attack as he looks to score in Iowa. Earlier this week, the Perry camp unleashed an ad on Iowa airwaves that stresses the Texas governors lack of ties to Washington, contrasting him to other candidates with Beltway ties -- namely former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Paul, Santorum and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.
"If Washington's the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it?" the narrator of the ad asks. "Among them, they've spent 63 years in Congress, leaving us with debt, earmarks, and bailouts. Congressmen get $174,000 a year and you get the bill. We need a solution."
"That's the reason I've called for a part-time Congress, Perry says in the ad. Cut their pay in half, cut their time in Washington in half, cut their staff in half, send them home. Let them get a job like everybody else back home has."
"Governor Perry is the only Washington outsider in this race, insisted Ray Sullivan, a spokesman for Perry, before including former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts in the attack. He has never served in Washington or been an establishment favorite.
"The current and former members of Congress in the race have a legacy of federal debt, earmarks and excess, Sullivan added. Governor Perry has the strongest plan to overhaul Washington, D.C., by creating a part-time Congress, cutting their staff, pay, and time spent in Washington in half."
In the midst of making 12 stops in Iowa on Tuesday, Gingrich responded to the continued attacks against him in an email to supporters.
Just three days into the new year, the first votes will be cast in Iowa and we are facing a barrage of attacks trying to paint me as something other than the experienced conservative in this race, Gingrich wrote. These misleading ads fail to mention the strategy I helped craft that led to the first Republican majority in the House of Representatives in nearly four decades. They also fail to mention that I balanced federal budgets, reformed welfare, made the largest capital gains tax cut in history, and saw 11 million jobs created --just to name a few of the conservative policies that I have helped champion for decades.
The choice of which candidate has the record and detailed conservative plan for the future could not be more clear," Gingrich added.
Bachmann also unleashed some ads on television and radio last week and she continues to attempt to match Santorums accomplishment of hitting all 99 counties in Iowa before the caucus. She continued that tour on Tuesday, hitting nine towns as she looks to count on her grass-roots organization -- which propelled her to a win in the Iowa Republican straw poll in August -- for a strong showing in the caucus.
While the other candidates focus on Iowa, Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman continue to work New Hampshire.
On Tuesday, Romney announced that he had won the endorsement of New Hampshire state Sen. Sharon Carson, who serves as part of the legislative leadership as majority whip. Romney is leading in polls of New Hampshire, which will hold the first presidential primary. Carson campaigned with Romney on Tuesday in an event in New Hampshire.
Senator Carson has stood up for New Hampshires fiscally responsible traditions by working to balance the state budget during difficult economic times without raising taxes. She has also demonstrated a deep commitment to public service by serving her state as an elected official and serving her country in the United States Army Reserve, Romney said in a statement released on Tuesday. I am honored to have earned Sharons support. Her endorsement is another indication of the building momentum and enthusiasm for my campaign in the final days before the primary.
I have taken my time to evaluate the backgrounds and qualifications of each of the candidates seeking the Republican nomination. After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that Mitt Romney is the best person to lead our party and defeat President Obama in 2012, said Carson. Governor Romney has the background as a conservative businessman and a fiscally responsible chief executive that our next president will need to turn around our country. Mitt has laid out bold initiatives for our country and he has been steady, composed and thoughtful in every one of the presidential debates. He is running the type of traditional grass-roots campaign that my constituents expect from presidential candidates. Mitt Romney has earned my trust and support, and I look forward to working to make sure that he is elected the next president of the United States.
The Huntsman camp announced on Monday that their candidate would be touring the Granite State starting on Wednesday until the primary on Jan. 10.
"Jon Huntsman is uniquely prepared to reform our broken political system, fix our economy, and restore trust in Washington," said Tim Miller, a spokesman for Huntsman. "Over the campaign's final 14 days in New Hampshire, he will make that case to voters and continue to build on our Granite State momentum. No other candidate is working New Hampshire as hard as Jon Huntsman and the importance of such hard work will be clearly seen on primary day."
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
