WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney ramped up his campaign Thursday in Iowa, a strategy that may be necessary now that Newt Gingrich poses a serious threat to Romney’s White House bid.
Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, has charged into the lead in recent national polls and in three of the first four states to vote.
Unlike other Republican challengers, whom Romney strategists regarded as too conservative or lacking the gravitas needed to beat the former Massachusetts governor’s well-financed and well-organized campaign, Gingrich presents a potentially lethal challenge.
“Romney may be sufficiently concerned that Gingrich is showing enough strength that people will coalesce around him as the non-Romney candidate,” said Timothy Hagle, an associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa.
Romney, who has failed for months to budge from his mid-20s percent showing in national polls, unveiled his first Iowa TV ad Thursday, a positive-toned 30-second spiel that touts his private-sector background and eagerness for tough federal fiscal discipline.
“We’re going to have to cut spending. And I’m in favor of cutting spending, capping federal spending as a percentage of GDP at 20 percent or less, and having a balanced budget amendment,” Romney says.
Denver Post wire services
