WASHINGTON, 12 January 2008 — Republican candidates took shots at their rivals and tried to tailor their messages to voters in Michigan and South Carolina Thursday night, as the two states prepare for primaries in coming days. Analysts say economic stability and job losses are worrying voters in the Midwestern state of Michigan, while many in South Carolina are concerned about illegal immigration.
In the Republican Party’s most open race for decades, candidates are turning to high-risk survival tactics to keep their hopes alive of winning the presidential nomination.
In their last debate before the nation’s first Southern primary — the South traditionally offers strong Republican support in presidential elections — the candidates made contrasting appeals in a state packed with conservative GOP voters.
Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul and Fred Thompson brought a distinct edge to Thursday’s 90-minute debate, aired over the Fox News station, which is a favorite of conservatives.
McCain, boosted by his comeback victory in New Hampshire, and Mitt Romney, severely damaged after losing the first two nominating contests, went after each other ahead of Tuesday’s primary in Michigan, a showdown that could kill off either campaign.
McCain, who emerged from the debate unscathed, received a further boost with new polls showing him leading in both Michigan and South Carolina.
South Carolina has a Republican electorate heavy with conservatives and evangelicals and is also home to many military bases. It is shaping up once again to be a critical contest in the party’s nomination battle. Since it gained its first-in-the South status in 1980, no Republican has received the party nomination without winning the state.
A victory there for Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and onetime Baptist minister who rode to victory in Iowa on the support of evangelicals, would confirm his status as a serious national contender. He is staking much on a victory in South Carolina, where his Southern, evangelical credentials are finding fertile ground.
Long-shot libertarian Ron Paul congressman again criticized the Republican Party for too much spending, overextending the military and seeking to impose US values on other nations. “We have lost our way,” he said.
Paul once again served as a foil, but he also came on strong, at times outshining many of the mainstream candidates, including Giuliani.
Romney took the harshest shot at him, saying, “I think Congressman Paul should not be reading as many of (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad’s press releases.”
Thursday was the one-year anniversary of President Bush’s announcement that he would temporarily boost US troop levels in Iraq; and McCain, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, reminded the audience of his support for the Iraq war.
In the rare on-air disagreement between McCain and Giuliani, the Arizona senator said he took heat for backing the increase at the time, and “I’m the only one on this stage that did.” That drew a rebuke from Giuliani, who said, “I supported the surge; I’ve supported it throughout.” McCain replied that he “condemned” the previous Iraq plan “and called for the change in strategy. That’s the difference.”
The next showdown in the Republican race is in Michigan on Tuesday. Romney, whose father was governor there, must win it to keep his campaign alive. McCain believes he can finish Romney off if he wins it. But he also badly needs victory to keep his extraordinary comeback going. His New Hampshire victory was achieved after his campaign fell apart in the summer.
Giuliani is staking his candidacy instead on victory in Florida on Jan. 29, which he hopes will propel him to big wins on Feb. 5, “Super Tuesday”, when more than 20 states vote.
