|
 |
 |
|
Gingrich did not call Romney to concede Florida
Mitt Romney said Wednesday that Newt Gingrich did not call him to acknowledge Romney won the vote in Florida the previous night, breaking with tradition for fellow candidates to concede the vote to the winner.
“Well, actually Newt didn’t call after Iowa and after New Hampshire," Romney said on NBC's "Today" show. The close result in Iowa's caucuses was originally called in Romney's favor, although a recount found that Rick Santorum actually won the state. Romney went on to handily win the majority in primary votes in New Hampshire and Florida.
“The other candidates all called, but I don’t know...I guess Speaker Gingrich doesn’t have our phone number," Romney added.
Romney brushed off the lack of acknowledgement by Gingrich. "As has been said long ago, politics ain't beanbags," Romney said on CNN. "We're battling to become the nominee. He's going to do it the way he thinks is best; I'll do it the way I think is best."
Gingrich-supporter Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) argued in a separate interview later on MSNBC that American voters are “not interested in any feud between these two individuals.”
Romney went on to say on CNN that he expected the nomination process would be "a long road." He said on CNN that Gingrich, Santorum and Ron Paul have "the right to stay in the race as long as they want to."
Santorum and Paul moved their campaigns west, leaving Florida to Romney and Gingrich ahead of the state's vote. Both have said they plan to stay in the race as long as they can. Gingrich has argued that the other candidates splitting the conservative vote should drop out of what has become a "two-man race."
"It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader Newt Gingrich and the Massachusetts moderate [Romney]," Gingrich said in his Tuesday-night speech accepting second place in the Florida vote.
--This post was updated at 1:16 p.m.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
