Ron Paul is the True Conservative
Writes Aaron Blake at The Washington Post:
Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are fighting for the right to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney.
But they both lost that battle in Nevada — to Ron Paul.
Entrance polls from Saturday’s Nevada caucuses show Romney racking up huge wins among the vast majority of demographics, which isn’t surprising given that he took about 50 percent of the vote.
But the one demographic that is supposed to be Gingrich’s and Santorum’s bread and butter — people looking for the “true conservative” in the race — didn’t go for either one of them.
Which begs the question: Just what is the argument for their candidacies right now?
The entrance polls show about one in five voters said the most important attribute they want to see in a candidate is that he is a “true conservative.”
Among those voters, Romney took just 4 percent — a showing that lends credence to the idea that there is room for a true conservative alternative.
But those voters didn’t spurn Romney for Gingrich or Santorum; instead, they went for Paul, who won the demographic with about 40 percent…
this is really a must-have demographic for Gingrich and Santorum, and the fact that neither of them tapped it is bad news for their campaigns and their cases for pressing forward.
Exit and entrance polls give voters four options for their top priority in picking a candidate — that they can beat President Obama, that they have the right experience, that they have strong moral character and that they are the true conservative in the field…
The “true conservative” vote, then, is really the only one where he is going to cede big votes. It’s a necessary… demographic for any would-be anti-Romney candidate.
But if a significant amount of these voters are going to Paul, then Gingrich and Santorum have no chance.
