Saturday, June 4, 2011

A couple of quotes from Katie Koberg of Newt's campaign

From Daily Times Herald:
"I had the opportunity to meet [Newt] earlier this year at the office in Muscatine," said Koberg, who worked for Iowans for Tax Relief in that southeastern Iowa city. “Upon leaving that meeting I knew at that point in time that was the guy I was going to support."

Koberg said she believes Gingrich has a strong chance in Iowa.

"We've been doubling crowd sizes," Koberg said. "We've had to expand rooms quickly. The people are active, interested and they want to listen and learn."

Friday, June 3, 2011

Newt's keynote address to 2011 Alzheimer's Association Advocacy Forum

Link.

Ralph Reed: Newt was the only one to show up at FFC last year

There has been some criticism of Newt because he is the only 2012 GOP Presidential contender who will not be in person at this weekend's second annual Faith & Freedom Coalition (FFC) Conference. (He will send a video message.) The reason is that Newt had long scheduled a vacation this weekend, but it has not stopped some from blasting him over it.

However, the head of FFC, Ralph Reed, had this to say when asked about Gingrich's absence:
“Newt was the only one of all these candidates who was here last year....Newt was at the first conference and he’s a dear friend. He would’ve been here if he could’ve been.”
Now, in my opinion, it says more about a person to show up at an event -- helping launch a new group at that -- when they are not seeking office than to only show up when they are looking for votes.

Newt was at a Faith & Freedom Coalition meeting back in March:

Link.

Video of Newt in Le Mars, Iowa

Link

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Matt Towery: Gingrich "could easily" rebound should he win June 13 debate

Matt Towery, a former Gingrich staffer and now CEO of InsiderAdvantage, writes that while Newt had a shaky rollout, "if he wins the first debate later this month, his candidacy could easily be resurrected."

It's an important point, because while Newt has suffered some bad press, he is still at the top of polls, including the most important one: Iowa. (For my post earlier today about the latest Iowa poll, click here.)

Four years ago, John McCain was cratering in the polls and on the verge of running out of campaign money. But through his performances in town halls and debates, he rebounded to win the nomination.

Newt is nowhere near the low that McCain had. A great debate performance, followed by holding numerous events in the early states -- especially Iowa -- and Newt will rise in the polls.

My take on today's Iowa poll by PPP

Public Policy Polling (PPP) released a new survey today of Iowa Republican voters.

Back in April, Newt was at 9%, good for fourth. Today he was at 12%, which is still fourth place. (One thing that is interesting, and goes against the media's "conventional wisdom, is that 21% of those polled have not formed an opinion of Newt, which is higher than both Sarah Palin (by 10 points) and Mitt Romney (by 6 points).

If Sarah Palin does not run, Newt's support rises to 15%, moving him to third.

Truthfully, however, there is no clear order after Mitt Romney. With Palin out of the race, it would probably be more accurate to say that the next three -- Hermain Cain, Newt, and Michelle Bachmann -- are tied for second. If Palin runs, the hierarchy is a little more clear but still muddled.

With Palin:
Romney: 21%
Cain: 15%
Palin: 15%
Gingrich: 12%
Bachmann: 11%
Pawlenty: 10%
Paul: 8%
Undecided: 8%
Without Palin:
Romney: 26%
Cain: 16%
Gingrich: 15%
Bachmann: 14%
Paul: 11%
Pawlenty: 10%
Undecided: 8%
While Romney is the frontrunner now, it is to be seen if his poll numbers will erode should he choose to, if not altogether skip Iowa, then downplay the first contest. Another factor is how much a drag Romneycare will be on him once more voters become aware of it.

The Ames Straw Poll on August 13 will be the first big test of the different campaigns' ability to organize their supporters. And in that regard, Newt -- according to both Craig Robinson and Kevin Hall of The Iowa Republican -- is at the top.

Hall, on May 23, wrote: "The other presidential candidates would love to be able to draw crowds the way Gingrich did last week."

Robinson, back in April, had this to say: "That story went out the window when nearly 200 people showed up on a Friday night to see a documentary that has played on FOX News numerous times. Turning out that kind of crowd on a Friday night in downtown Des Moines was impressive. It was also something most other potential 2012 candidate have yet to do in Iowa."

Robinson also wrote that if Newt can "meet or exceed expectations" at the Ames Straw Poll, "he could use the numerous debates that follow to propel his campaign to a victory in Iowa and elsewhere."

Monday, May 30, 2011

New page: Newt's team on Twitter

I have added a new page.

Newt's team on Twitter. You can "follow" the list after clicking on the link.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Attendance count of some of Newt's Iowa events

The article is over a week old, but MSNBC got an attendance count from Newt's spokesman, Rick Tyler, of twelve of Newt's seventeen Iowa events:
Dubuque - 130
Cedar Rapids - 97
Des Moines - 200
Mason City - 160
Waterloo - 110
Marshalltown - 178
Ames - 160
Carroll - 104
Atlantic - 75
Council Bluffs - 140
Onawa - 68
Sioux City -120
1542 in total. Would be interesting to see what the numbers for the other five were. (The article was written in the middle of the three-day trip.)
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