AMES, Iowa — Mitt Romney celebrated the final night of an extended summer vacation Thursday, emerging as the uncontested and still unscathed frontrunner from an eight-way scrap.
The two-hour debate here, the third of the GOP presidential campaign, lacked the candidate who could ultimately present him with his stiffest competition: Rick Perry. Without Perry, and without the candidates taking any significant swipes at Romney, the two-hour forum had a preliminary feel to it—which is why the former Massachusetts governor never had to break a sweat.
Perry’s expected entry into the race Saturday will change all that.
The Texas governor may present the last best hope of beating Romney, the tenuous but still dent-free frontrunner. And the remaining candidates are already scrapping furiously for a shrinking third place spot.
Romney offered a glimpse of the race’s next phase with the observation that only he and longshot Herman Cain “understand how the private sector” works.
“That will be a very effective message against Perry,” predicted former Senator Jim Talent, a Romney adviser.
Romney’s high command wasn’t ready to directly contrast their candidate’s record with Perry, but they were happy to begin laying the groundwork for a campaign that will portray the decade-long Texas governor as a career politician running at a moment of maximum skepticism toward politicians.
“I think it’s very, very difficult to step into a national race and I think it’s a very difficult time to be running in your third decade in office,” said Romney strategist Stuart Stevens. “People are not looking for, ‘I have experience in government to solve government.”
The poll's Thursday release comes two days before Perry gives a speech at a major conservative gathering in South Carolina where he is expected to announce his run for the White House. Later in the day Perry travels to New Hampshire to meet with GOP lawmakers, activists, and voters. Perry's travels Saturday come as the rest of the political spotlight will be shining on Iowa, for a crucial presidential straw poll in Ames. Perry heads to Iowa Sunday to speak at a Republican party gathering, which means he will visit three of the crucial early voting primary and caucus states this weekend.
The survey indicates that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who is making his third bid for the White House, are at 12 percent apiece. While both Giuliani, who ran for the presidency four years ago, and Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, have flirted with bids, neither has taken concrete steps towards launching a campaign.
According to the poll, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota has the support of seven percent, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at five percent, both former Godfather's Pizza CEO and radio talk show host Herman Cain and former Utah Gov. and former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman at four percent, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania at two percent. Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and Rep. Thad McCotter of Michigan both register at less than one half of one percent.
If the choices are pared down to exclude Giuliani and Palin, Romney remains at the top of the list, with 23 percent, followed by Perry at 18 percent and Paul at 14 percent. The survey indicates Bachmann at nine percent, Gingrich one point back, Cain and Huntsman at five percent, Pawlenty and Santorum at three percent and Johnson and McCotter both registering at less than one half of one percent.
According to the poll, the GOP candidates and potential candidates match up differently against President Barack Obama in hypothetical 2012 general election showdowns. Giuliani has a 51-45 percent advantage over Obama among registered voters, while Romney matches up evenly against the President - 49 percent for Obama and 48 percent for Romney. But the survey indicates Obama appears to have a slight edge over Bachmann (51-45 percent) and Perry (51-46 percent) and Obama has a lead over Palin (55-41 percent).
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