Abortion Could Be Factor In GOP New Hampshire Debates, Primary
As the Republican candidates plan two debates - tonight and tomorrow morning - news outlets are covering the possible impact on the voters.
Bloomberg: Santorum Channeling Pat Buchanan Faces a Changed New Hampshire
Rick Santorum, working to channel the populist success of Patrick Buchanan in New Hampshire, may be unable to recreate the coalition he needs to finish strong in the state’s Jan. 10 Republican presidential primary. Buchanan scored an upset win in New Hampshire’s 1996 primary by consolidating a group of working-class voters stressed over threats to manufacturing jobs and a smaller bloc of anti-abortion Catholics. ... Santorum, a Catholic who has made his opposition to abortion rights a central campaign issue, is also working to consolidate support among New Hampshire’s Catholic voters (Davis and Goldman, 1/6).
Chicago Tribune/Reuters: Republicans Sharpen Knives For Twin Debates
Santorum has Romney in his sights after narrowly losing the Iowa caucuses. He wants to jump into second place in New Hampshire and emerge as the main conservative alternative to Romney looking ahead to January 21 in South Carolina, where his social conservative message has a better chance of being heard. He goes into the debates suggesting Romney's healthcare plan that he developed as governor of neighboring Massachusetts meant that Romney is not different enough from Obama (1/7).
CNN: New Hampshire -- All About The Independents
While Iowa's caucuses are disproportionately dominated by social conservatives, in New Hampshire's open primary, independents can vote -- and they make up more than 40% of the local electorate. ... a Pew Research Center poll conducted before the 2008 primary found that 55% of New Hampshire Republican primary voters believed that abortion should be always or mostly legal, while just 13% of New Hampshire GOP primary voters said abortion should be always illegal -- posing a problem for fundamentalists like Rick Santorum who support a constitutional ban on abortion (Avlon, 1/7).
Fox News: GOP Candidates Look to Rein In Romney at N.H. Debates
Previewing the strategy ahead, Gingrich accused Romney of backing tax hikes as well as allowing the funding of abortions in his state health care plan. Gingrich's campaign is planning to release an ad focused on Romney's abortion record, though the former House speaker said Saturday he will avoid "negative" ads (1/6).
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