Three-state defeat exposes chinks in Romney’s armour

Washington: Many US Republicans may have growing concerns about their presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, but no one is pushing the panic button — yet.

That could change quickly, however, if Romney does not reverse last Tuesday's three-state losing streak to Rick Santorum by winning in Arizona and Michigan on February 28, and then having a strong showing in 10 ‘Super Tuesday' contests on March 6.

Wooing the conservatives

Romney's losses last Tuesday — by five points in Colorado and by blowout margins of 20 in Missouri and 28 in Minnesota — were marked by low voter turnout and gave new life to questions about his ability to inspire conservative Republicans who distrust him for his tenure as governor in liberal Massachusetts.

The apparent lack of enthusiasm, Republican strategists acknowledged, also fuelled doubts about Romney's prospects for luring independent voters in a potential race against Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.

Another stumble, the strategists said, could cause many in the party's establishment to rethink their backing of Romney and remind them of why they doubted him to begin with.

"A Romney loss in Arizona would cause alarm," Republican Dan Schnur, an aide to John McCain during his 2000 presidential bid, said. "A loss in Michigan," where Romney's father was an auto executive and governor, "would be all-out panic."

Romney still is widely viewed as the prohibitive favourite to win the Republican nomination, in part because of doubts that any of his three rivals — Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul — could win a national election.

The alternatives

Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, is a strict anti-abortion, anti-gay-marriage social conservative whose lucrative career as a Washington consultant is only now beginning to come under attack from Romney.

Gingrich, a former House of Representatives speaker, has been battered by pro-Romney attack ads that have focused on Gingrich's ethics violations in Congress and his work as a $25,000(Dh91,827)-a-month consultant for mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

The libertarian-leaning Paul, a Texas congressman, has a loyal core of supporters. But his appeal is limited even within the Republican Party, in part because he wants to dramatically limit the US role in foreign affairs and significantly scale back the military's presence overseas.

Other potential alternatives to Romney — such as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels — are mentioned occasionally, but both have said they have no plans to enter the race.

For Romney, the formula for warding off doubts about his candidacy is simple: win more states.

"When there are concerns about a candidate, the only way to put them to rest is to win," Schnur said. "There is nothing wrong with Mitt Romney that winning a bellwether state like Ohio won't cure."

Ohio, a crucial battleground in each general election, is one of 10 states being contested on Super Tuesday, when Romney's big financial and organisational advantage is expected to make him tough to beat.

He also will be a heavy favourite a week earlier in Michigan, where he grew up, and in Arizona, where he finished second during his failed 2008 campaign to native son McCain.