Jon Martin picks up some great news…(I think this helps Huck)…
Mitt Romney is going off the air in South Carolina, at least through next week’s Michigan primary. And he may not contest the Palmetto State at all.
Decisions about where to shift staff are still being made, but after tonight’s Myrtle Beach debate, the former Massachusetts governor almost certainly won’t be back in the state until after Michigan’s contest next Tuesday. The South Carolina primary takes place the following Saturday, meaning Romney would have just a few days to campaign here–if he decides to make an effort at all.
Romney sources believe that the state is coming down to a “knife-fight,” as one put it, between former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Arizona Senator John McCain and that one of the two will not survive after the state’s primary results are in. Further, a poor finish here could be downplayed, they believe, if the campaign is not seen as making a continued push in the state.
“The picking-your-state strategy has worked for all the other candidates who cherrypicked which states they were going to do battle in while letting their opponents fight it out in other ones,” said one Romney aide, revealing a trace of bitterness at the chess moves of the four other Republicans. “It’s time for Mitt Romney to give it a try.”
