Newt Gingrich: 5 keys to victory

Newt Gingrich is surging once again in the polls, but despite his recent win in South Carolina, Mitt Romney still holds the long-term advantage. In order for Newt Gingrich to win, the former Speaker of the House will have to plan for and play a very long game. Here are five things Gingrich can do to improve his odds of winning the Republican nomination.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Patience is a virtue: Gingrich is expected to do well in Florida on January 31, but the race should be close. Romney is expected to do better there than he did in South Carolina. Romney has deeper pockets than Gingrich, and his campaign is better organized.

Romney is also expected to do very well in a number of the Western states including Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. The western states also have large Mormon populations which will be motivated to vote for a Mormon candidate.

However, if Gingrich continues to perform as well as he did in South Carolina, momentum may swing in his favor on Super Tuesday in March. On that day, approximately 25 percent of the Republican delegates are at stake.

Encourage Santorum to Quit?: Rick Santorum has been popular with evangelical, Catholic and socially conservative voters, and he has made a respectable showing in the polls. However, polls also show that the majority of conservatives doubt his electability.

Some observers believe Santorum has not performed as well in the debates as Romney or Gingrich. Still, many people appreciate his genuine, integrated, consistent and complete conservative credentials -- Santorum is undoubtedly the most socially and fiscally conservative candidate in the field.

Right now, Santorum has a lot more power to influence the outcome of the race than most people realize. If he stays in, some election observers believe that his presence might favor Romney. However, if he departs, perhaps those who support the former Senator, who have shown more comfort with Gingrich than Romney, will coalesce behind the former Speaker. If Santorum exits the race and endorses Gingrich, he could possibly guarantee Gingrich's nomination.

However, all indications are that Rick Santorum, the grandson of a coalminer, with a history of fighting hard when he runs for public office, is a fighter and has no plans of leaving the 2012 race.

Keep attacking Romney: Romney has made a number of gaffes and mistakes during this campaign. The first most well-known gaffe he made -- while it's technically not a gaffe or a mistake at all because it's legally accurate -- was his declaration that "corporations are people." The statement has been seized upon by his detractors who argue that he is out of touch with the majority. Naturally, the Romney campaign argues this statement has been taken out of context.

Other missteps include challenging Texas Governor Rick Perry to a $10,000 bet during one of the debates, stating that his tax rate is approximately 15 percent, and refusing until now to disclose his tax record. While none of these things are technically mistakes, they are tactical errors that have been capitalized upon by the Gingrich camp. Gingrich has gained a lot of ground portraying Romney as an out-of-touch elitist. 

Free Prayer PDFs | Available in English, Spanish and French

If Romney continues to make tactical errors such as these, Gingrich will have an opportunity to pick up more ground against Romney -- ground that could be decisive in what will certainly be a close race.

Be more conservative - across the board - than Romney: The Gingrich campaign has done a good job of comparing Romney to Obama. Indeed, Romney does have a more politically moderate record. In fact, this is what some argue makes Romney more electable than Gingrich. However, the Republican base is unified in their opposition against Obama, which is the reason why any comparisons they Gingrich can draw between Romney and Obama will cost Romney votes.

More Debates: Gingrich is at his best during the debates. His natural intelligence, aggressive approach, and articulate handling of tough questions makes Gingrich stand head and shoulders above his opponents. Viewers enjoy watching him speak and on several occasions he has turned very critical questions into winning moments. This gives voters confidence that if Gingrich continues his strong performance he can eventually become the nominee and possibly even defeat Barack Obama.

But there is a caveat. It now appears that the Republican presidential nomination will become a long, protracted process. If this happens, the Republican contenders will continue to attack one another spending critical money and tearing down their Republican colleagues and saving the Democrats work. Ultimately, this could help Barack Obama.

Gingrich can win, and possibly beat Barack Obama, but in order for this to happen he needs to stay strong through February and win big on Super Tuesday. If the race remains tight through Super Tuesday, it will become very difficult for the Republicans to win back the White House in November.

. 

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'