Newt Gingrich, whose presidential campaign has been presumed dead for weeks, actually has a chance to win Tuesday’s Delaware GOP primary.
While presumptive nominee Mitt Romney has ignored Delaware since Rick Santorum exited the race earlier this month, Gingrich recently has spent most of his time in Delaware. While the Blue Hen State offers only 17 delegates, it would represent an important symbolic win for Gingrich — and loss for Romney.
“He [Gingrich] definitely has a chance, because there are some people who feel like he really made an attempt to come to Delaware,” state Sen. Liane Sorenson, a 20-year legislator who endorsed Romney, told
Politico. “There are people who will vote for him for that reason.”
Former state GOP Chairman Tom Ross, who also supports Romney, concurs. “Just the fact that Newt is working really hard — it could put him in the position to shock some people,” he told the news service.
A Gingrich victory remains a long shot. But even some Romney supporters are growing worried about the possibility of an upset win by the former House speaker.
As for the Gingrich side, “We are very optimistic,” his spokesman R.C. Hammond told Politico. “Voters in Delaware, like many of the delegates being selected at county and state conventions, want a conservative nominee.” So far Gingrich has won primaries only in South Carolina and his home state of Georgia.
Republican voters in Delaware have surprised pundits before. In 2010, they shocked the nation when they nominated tea partyer Christine O’Donnell for the Senate seat formerly held by Vice President Joe Biden. She lost the general election.
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