Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are at the top of the GOP slate, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday it's too early to assume that they'll continue to stand alone.
"I think that you have to always assume there are other people," the former presidential candidate told Fox Business Network's Stuart Varney on his
"Varney & Co." program.
"At this stage in 2008, John McCain was out of the race. He had run out of money, he had collapsed. He was going around new Hampshire with one staff assistant and he came back to be the nominee. So I'm cautious about saying people don't have a chance."
For example, Gingrich said, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been "very, very effective in New Hampshire," and if he could win or come in second in that state, "he could be in a position to be one of the top four."
Another possible is Ben Carson, whose poll numbers have collapsed over his statements on national security, said Gingrich.
"Whether or not Carson can turn around his slide, I don't know," said Gingrich. "But he's spent a long time being the No. 2 person in this race . . . We'll see tomorrow night if he does a better job."
Meanwhile, Gingrich said Trump has been "at the same plateau" for a month or longer in Iowa.
"Cruz has actually done a very, very intelligent job reaching out to Ben Carson's voters in Iowa," said Gingrich. "Cruz had a great couple of days and of course, that's going to bring lots of attention to Cruz, but that's the business."
And to become nominee, candidates need to face attacks, and Gingrich said there will be many candidates turning their attention to Cruz on Tuesday night at the GOP debate in Las Vegas.
Gingrich, though, did praise Cruz's for reaction to Trump calling him a "little bit of a maniac." After Trump made that comment Sunday morning, the Cruz camp tweeted a clip from the 1980s movie
"Flashdance," of star Jennifer Beals' legendary dance to the song "Maniac."
"I thought it was the most clever response to Trump, and that showed you a discipline and we'll see when they're face-to-face whether Cruz has the same discipline," said Gingrich. "Yesterday his campaign team came back with the right tone, and all sorts of folks are talking about it today and I suspect it's gone viral on Twitter."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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