Romney failing in SC—we ask: given Romney’s massive spending, why?

August 24, 2007 in campaign finance, campaign literature, campaign management, election, election 2008, incompetence, mitt romney, polls, republicans, rhetoric, romney
Tags: South Carolina

“Why can’t Mr. Romney make any headway in the Palmetto State? It’s a puzzle the Romney campaign might want to solve, because if it can’t lock down all three early states, its ultra-targeted primary strategy simply stops making sense,” writes the estimable and quick-witted Ryan Sager of the New York Sun in an analysis aptly titled Romney’s Palmetto State Peril.

… No one from the Romney campaign would return calls or emails yesterday to discuss what’s gone wrong, but a poll published by Rasmussen Reports on Wednesday gives the flavor of things: Mr. Romney is in fourth place, with just 10% of the Republican primary vote in South Carolina. Senator McCain, whose presidential campaign has all but collapsed, is at 14% in the poll; Mr. Giuliani is at 21%, and the yet-to-declare Fred Thompson leads with 23%. And this, it should be noted, is one of the better polls out of the state for Mr. Romney. Most have him in single digits.

Plenty of explanations could be offered for this poor showing, but none seems satisfactory. Mr. Romney has spent money in South Carolina. The state’s largest newspaper, the State, reports that he’s spent more than $1 million there already on ads and organization. He’s spent time in the state. He started coming in 2005 and has courted the major players extensively … more

We harp on similar strings:

• Romney sees few viable options in early electoral strategy
• the Romney electoral Schlieffen Plan halts and sputters—can more cash save it?

yours &c.
dr. g.d.

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