Mitt Romney |
Meanwhile, the three candidates most likely to draw conservative voters - Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry - have been struggling. Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator who came within eight votes of winning Iowa, each won 9 percent Tuesday. Perry, who considered dropping out of the race after a poor fifth-place showing in Iowa, effectively skipped New Hampshire to focus on South Carolina. All the candidates planned to campaign on Wednesday in South Carolina where Romney could have a tougher time than he had in New Hampshire. Some Republicans doubt whether he is sufficiently conservative given his shifting views on abortion and other social issues. Some are also wary of his Mormon faith. And TV ads already are filling the South Carolina airwaves, including negative spots like the new one from Gingrich assailing Romney for switching his position on an issue that resonates strongly with evangelicals who make up the base of the Republican Party here. "He governed pro-abortion," the Gingrich ad says. "Massachusetts moderate Mitt Romney: He can't be trusted." But with conservatives failing to rally behind a single candidate, their votes could be divided among Gingrich, Santorum and Romney, creating an opening for Romney. A poll last week showed him with a double-digit lead in South Carolina and his New Hampshire win should provide a further boost. Several of Romney's rivals have made it clear that they will seek to undercut the chief rationale of his candidacy: that his experience in private business makes him the strongest Republican to take on President Barack Obama on the economy in the fall. In recent weeks, rivals have stepped up criticism of Romney, seizing on his record at the venture capital firm Bain Capital.
Perry, for one, is accusing Romney of "vulture capitalism" that led to job losses in economically distressed South Carolina and other states. A group supporting Gingrich, who saw his once-soaring candidacy crash under a barrage of negative ads by Romney supporters in Iowa, has pledged to spend $3.4 million for anti-Romney ads. In his victory speech, Romney said the attacks on his business record from Republican rivals were similar to Democratic criticisms. "President Obama wants to put free enterprise on trial. In the last few days, we have seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him," Romney said in his victory speech, chastising his critics while acting as though he is already the nominee. "This is such a mistake for our party and for our nation." But, appearing to position him as the party's inevitable nominee, most of his fire was directed at Obama. "The president has run out of ideas," he said. "And now he's running out of excuses." The White House has already begun targeting Romney. Vice President Joe Biden, in a video conference with party activists on Tuesday evening, cast Romney as someone who would side with the wealthy, while he and Obama "have one overarching commitment - to give the middle class a fighting chance." Obama, running unopposed, won the Democratic primary. Romney's victory in New Hampshire made him the first Republican to sweep the first two contests in competitive races since 1976. The Republican nominee will ultimately be determined by a state-by-state tally of delegates at the Republican National Convention in August. Only 12 delegates were at stake on Tuesday in New Hampshire, out of 1,144 needed to win the nomination. Romney's win was worth seven delegates to the Republican National Convention next summer. Paul earned three delegates and Huntsman two.