Gingrich Says He's Still In, Will Take Fight to 'Timid' Romney

By John Whitesides

February 5, 2012 9:57 PM EST

(Reuters) - Newt Gingrich vowed Sunday to press ahead with his struggling presidential bid after a big loss in Nevada, saying he will focus on drawing a contrast with "timid" rival Mitt Romney.

Romney, the Republican front-runner, easily thumped Gingrich in Nevada on Saturday for his second consecutive win and third in the first five contests in the state-by-state battle to pick a challenger to face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November election.

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The victory gave Romney growing momentum as the race turns to the next round contests on Tuesday - in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri - and Maine's weeklong caucuses that conclude next Saturday.

It also raised questions about Gingrich's future, but the former House of Representatives speaker appeared on two national morning talk shows to repeat his vow to stay in the race despite big losses in Nevada and last week in Florida.

Gingrich, a former Georgia congressman, hopes his campaign can last until 10 "Super Tuesday" contests on March 6 and several later contests in March, when votes will be taken in Southern states where he expects to do well.

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"My goal over the next few weeks is to draw a very sharp distinction between Romney's positions, which are very - the Wall Street Journal described them as timid - and in terms of tax policies, being like Obama," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I hope by the time we get to Super Tuesday that I will have made the case that a genuine conservative is a dramatically better choice to defeat Barack Obama," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Gingrich said he hoped to pull close to even with Romney in delegates for the nomination after the Texas primary in early April.

First he will have to survive February. New polls on Sunday showed Gingrich could face a challenge from Rick Santorum, who has been vying with Gingrich to be the conservative alternative to the more moderate Romney.

A Public Policy Polling survey showed Romney with a comfortable 14-point lead in Colorado over Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, with Gingrich in third. In Minnesota, Santorum had a slight 2-point edge on Romney with Gingrich in third.

In Missouri, which is a non-binding primary that does not award delegates, Gingrich is not even on the ballot.

'BIG DAY FOR SANTORUM'

"Tuesday has the potential to be a big day for Rick Santorum," the Public Policy Polling memo said.

Santorum said he believed he would pick up steam in the race as it moves beyond the first five contests and broadened to states where Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has not spent as much time organizing and campaigning.

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