Bradley in DC
01-05-2008, 11:19 AM
McCain May Benefit From Huckabee’s Jolt to G.O.P.
Jacob Silberberg for The New York Times
Senator John McCain, at an event Friday in Hudson, N.H., appears to be in a strong position heading into the state’s primary on Tuesday as Mitt Romney’s bid weakens.
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and CARL HULSE
Published: January 5, 2008
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Mike Huckabee’s defeat of Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses jolted a Republican Party establishment already distressed about the state of its presidential field.
Mr. McCain is the latest beneficiary of the continuing upheaval in the Republican field that has seen nearly all of the candidates rising at various points. Among them were Mr. McCain, former Senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee and Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former mayor of New York.
Mr. Romney’s defeat in Iowa only underlined concerns that many Republicans had expressed about him, while the success of Mr. Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, gave rise to new worries among the Republican establishment.
“Among the intelligentsia of the party, there is definitely a deep concern about Huckabee getting the nomination because a lot of them think he can’t win,” said John Feehery, a former senior House Republican aide and party operative. “Part of it is self-interested panic since they have their own horses in the race, and none of them are riding Huckabee.”...
Even before the Iowa vote, polls suggested that New Hampshire voters were embracing Mr. McCain and his slightly iconoclastic message the way they did in 2000. At the same time, they were moving away from Mr. Romney.
Advisers to Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney said they believed that Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, was already weakened before Iowa and was now even more vulnerable. Evidence of that could be seen in a furious exchange of attack advertisements between the two men Friday.
Complicating Mr. Romney’s life even more, Mr. Huckabee’s campaign manager, Ed Rollins, suggested he was entering something of a temporary alliance of interest with Mr. McCain against Mr. Romney. Mr. Rollins said Mr. Huckabee would be using the next several days to present what he said would be an unfavorable comparison of their records as governor.
“We’re going to see if we can’t take Romney out,” Mr. Rollins said. “We like John. Nobody likes Romney.”
In many ways, Mr. Huckabee’s victory — and the possibility that he might actually win the nomination — may give Mr. McCain even more maneuvering room.
Among the top-tier Republican candidates, Mr. Huckabee has the fewest endorsements from members of Congress and has stirred some nervousness among Washington insiders.
“When you have an unexpected candidate surging to the top in the last three weeks of a campaign, that is telling you that somehow the party doesn’t know where it needs to go,” said Pete DuPont, a former governor of Delaware and Republican presidential candidate. “He is outside the establishment. He has won an election without any of their help, and the establishment hates it when that happens.”
Adam Nagourney reported from Manchester, N.H., and Carl Hulse from Washington. David D. Kirkpatrick and Marc Santora contributed reporting.
Jacob Silberberg for The New York Times
Senator John McCain, at an event Friday in Hudson, N.H., appears to be in a strong position heading into the state’s primary on Tuesday as Mitt Romney’s bid weakens.
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and CARL HULSE
Published: January 5, 2008
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Mike Huckabee’s defeat of Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses jolted a Republican Party establishment already distressed about the state of its presidential field.
Mr. McCain is the latest beneficiary of the continuing upheaval in the Republican field that has seen nearly all of the candidates rising at various points. Among them were Mr. McCain, former Senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee and Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former mayor of New York.
Mr. Romney’s defeat in Iowa only underlined concerns that many Republicans had expressed about him, while the success of Mr. Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, gave rise to new worries among the Republican establishment.
“Among the intelligentsia of the party, there is definitely a deep concern about Huckabee getting the nomination because a lot of them think he can’t win,” said John Feehery, a former senior House Republican aide and party operative. “Part of it is self-interested panic since they have their own horses in the race, and none of them are riding Huckabee.”...
Even before the Iowa vote, polls suggested that New Hampshire voters were embracing Mr. McCain and his slightly iconoclastic message the way they did in 2000. At the same time, they were moving away from Mr. Romney.
Advisers to Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney said they believed that Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, was already weakened before Iowa and was now even more vulnerable. Evidence of that could be seen in a furious exchange of attack advertisements between the two men Friday.
Complicating Mr. Romney’s life even more, Mr. Huckabee’s campaign manager, Ed Rollins, suggested he was entering something of a temporary alliance of interest with Mr. McCain against Mr. Romney. Mr. Rollins said Mr. Huckabee would be using the next several days to present what he said would be an unfavorable comparison of their records as governor.
“We’re going to see if we can’t take Romney out,” Mr. Rollins said. “We like John. Nobody likes Romney.”
In many ways, Mr. Huckabee’s victory — and the possibility that he might actually win the nomination — may give Mr. McCain even more maneuvering room.
Among the top-tier Republican candidates, Mr. Huckabee has the fewest endorsements from members of Congress and has stirred some nervousness among Washington insiders.
“When you have an unexpected candidate surging to the top in the last three weeks of a campaign, that is telling you that somehow the party doesn’t know where it needs to go,” said Pete DuPont, a former governor of Delaware and Republican presidential candidate. “He is outside the establishment. He has won an election without any of their help, and the establishment hates it when that happens.”
Adam Nagourney reported from Manchester, N.H., and Carl Hulse from Washington. David D. Kirkpatrick and Marc Santora contributed reporting.