All throughout the Republican debates and primaries, Mitt Romney has seemed like the undisputed favorite of the four major candidates. However, most of the states that Romney won tend to vote Democrat or a more moderate Republican. Rick Santorum appears to be appealing to conservatives more than all the other candidates. This was confirmed last night when Rick Santorum won the primaries in Mississippi and Alabama.
It has been said that since Richard Nixon turned the South predominantly Red states back in the 1970s, no Republican president can win office without the support of the Southern states. This is where most political analysts see Romney faltering. A Republican governor from Massachusetts who has been known to flip flop on issues is not what conservatives want.
As of right now, I hear that most political pundits believe that Newt Gingrich should drop out of the running for president. They claim that he is only stealing conservative votes from Rick Santorum and that “he should just be a gentleman and close his campaign”. However, Gingrich has vowed to fight on. He has completed two comebacks for the running of the Republican nomination for president and he believes he can do it again.
Personally, I agree with the pundits. Newt Gingrich has received less support after a Romney Super Pac went on a smear campaign and destroyed Newt’s image. Although that is unfortunate, I do not see any way that Newt Gingrich will be able to make a comeback. He simply just does not appeal to conservatives on the level that Santorum does.
So now the show down begins, this Republican primary could change the way the Republican Party sees itself. On one corner we have a moderate Republican who can appeal to Democrats and on the other we have a very socially conservative, religious Republican who is more conservative. If Romney wins, will the Republican Party begin to tilt more towards the middle? If Santorum wins, will the Republican Party turn even more conservative?
It is too early to tell but as we saw with the Tea Party movement, things can change very fast to counteract voters and Democrats. Unfortunately, the Republican Party may be starting to get too conservative. I know that some Republicans do not like how Santorum seems to forget about the separation of church and state sometimes but I also see the other side that Romney is more of a liberal than recent Republican candidates. Bottom line, this election season is far from over and ultimately Santorum and Romney will be battling for the nomination to go up against President Barack Obama.
