With Christie out, Romney becomes the candidate to beat
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision to stay out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination means that the GOP field could be set -- and Mitt Romney remains the candidate to beat.
The brash, charismatic governor was the latest Republican that threatened to siphon off dollars and endorsements from the Romney campaign, but with little time left for new primary candidates to enter the race, Romney is now the Republican establishment's default choice.
While other candidates have jostled among themselves for the distinction of being the Republican party's next big thing, the Romney campaign has kept a steady eye on the long road ahead, building a campaign organization and a donor network intended to survive the primaries.
As the last establishment candidate left standing -- after escaping possible bids from Christie and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty's exit from the race and watching the Jon Huntsman campaign fail to catch fire -- Romney now has the room to build on his argument that he's the most viable candidate to go head-to-head against President Obama. He also has a permanent bulls-eye on his back now, as his more conservative opponents seek to remind Republican voters why they haven't yet coalesced around Romney.
Almost immediately following Christie's decision to forgo a run was announced, it became clear that big Republican donors who were hoping for an alternative to Romney may now ready to get behind the former Massachusetts governor. Billionaire venture capitalist and Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, who aggressively pushed Christie to enter the presidential race, threw his support behind Romney yesterday, hours after Christie's announcement. Sources told CBS News that Romney's camp began efforts to woo Christie's backers Tuesday morning, even before Christie formally announced his decision.
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Romney can point to the political calendar to prove he's unlikely to see any new competitors -- candidates have until October 28 to get on the New Hampshire primary ballot, and the early Iowa caucuses may come just after the new year. Sarah Palin has yet to make a decision, but she is unlikely to attract the same voters as Romney.
Polls show that the race has come down to a fight between Romney and a cluster of anti-Romneys. Romney consistently polls near 20 percent while the other candidates continue to shuffle places. In the latest CBS News poll, businessman Herman Cain has emerged as Romney's top competitor, tying the former governor at 17 percent. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, meanwhile, had the support of 12 percent -- even though just two weeks ago, Perry overshadowed Romney with 23 percent support. Before Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann was the conservative candidate of the moment.
While no other candidate appears to have steady, strong support, Romney has to be concerned that he's failed to break through more than around 25 percent support in any national Republican poll. Voters could still easily be convinced they'd prefer a more charismatic conservative to Romney's calculated campaign.
Perry has made a number of missteps in recent weeks, such as delivering poor debate performances and making some controversial statements, but his impressive campaign fundraising figures for the third quarter reveal his campaign has the resources for a rebound -- and to go on the attack against Romney.
