Sorry, Mitt ! Surging Newt Gingrich gets coveted endorsement from New Hampshire’s largest paper !!!

New Hampshire's largest newspaper on Sunday endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 2012 GOP presidential race, signalling that rival Mitt Romney isn't the universal favourite and potentially resetting the contest before the state's lead-off primary January 10.

'We are in critical need of the innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership that Gingrich has shown he is capable of providing,' The New Hampshire Union Leader said in its front-page editorial, which was as much a promotion of Mr Gingrich as a discreet rebuke of Mr Romney.

'We don't back candidates based on popularity polls or big-shot backers. We look for conservatives of courage and conviction who are independent-minded, grounded in their core beliefs about this nation and its people, and best equipped for the job,' the editorial said.


My turn: Newt Gingrich got a coveted endorsement from New Hampshire's largest paper

Mr Romney enjoys solid leads in New Hampshire polls and remains at the front of the pack nationally.

A poll released last week showed him with 42 per cent support among likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire.

Mr Gingrich followed with 15 per cent in the WMUR-University of New Hampshire Granite State poll.

Rep Ron Paul of Texas posted 12 per cent support and former Utah Gov. John Huntsman found 8 per cent support in that survey.

Those numbers could shift based on the backing of The Union Leader, a newspaper with a conservative editorial stance that proudly works to influence elections, from school boards to the White House, in the politically savvy state.



No longer the favourite: The New Hampshire paper's endorsement potentially resets the contest before the state's lead-off primary



Front and centre: The editorial endorsing Mr Gingrich was featured on the front page of the Union Leader

The front page one editorial, signed by publisher Joseph W. McQuaid, suggested that the only state-wide newspaper in New Hampshire was ready to again assert itself as a player in the GOP primary.

'We don't have to agree with them on every issue,' the newspaper wrote in an editorial that ran across the width of the front page.

'We don't have to agree with them on every issue. We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear.'

-New Hampshire Union Leader

'We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear.'

While Mr Romney enjoys solid support in national polls, the large pack of Republicans has shifted all year from candidate to candidate in search of an alternative to the former Massachusetts governor.

That led to the rise, and fall, of potential challengers such as Mr Huntsman, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Yet with six weeks until the primary, The Union Leader's move could shuffle the race and further boost Gingrich.



Endorsed: The paper praised Mr Gingrich's 'innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership'

In recent weeks, he has seen a surge in some polls as Republicans focus more closely on deciding which candidate they consider best positioned to take on President Barack Obama.

'A lot of candidates say they're going to improve Washington,' the newspaper wrote. 'Newt Gingrich has actually done that, and in this race he offers the best shot of doing it again.'

As voters started focusing more on the race, Mr Gingrich has turned in solid debate performances and found his stride on a national stage.

'A lot of candidates say they're going to improve Washington. Newt Gingrich has actually done that, and in this race he offers the best shot of doing it again.'

-New Hampshire Union Leader

He has rebuilt his campaign after a disastrous summer that saw many of his top aides resign en masse and fundraising summaries report million in debt.

In New Hampshire, he brought on respected tea party leader Andrew Hemingway to lead his efforts and his team has been contacting almost 1,000 voters each day.

Hemingway's team of eight paid staffers in New Hampshire has been adding more than 100 volunteers each day, campaign officials said.

Mr Gingrich's team has lined up leaders in the major cities and has started identifying representatives in each ward in the state.



Qualified: Mr Gingrich once served as the Speaker of the House

Mr Gingrich has opened offices in Manchester, New Hampshire's biggest city, along with Dover in the eastern part of the state and in the North Country's Littleton. He plans two more.

Mr Gingrich hasn't begun television advertising and has refused to go negative on his opponents.

Yet The Union Leader's backing could give him a nudge in New Hampshire and provide a steady stream of criticism.



Nobody's perfect: The newspaper said 'Newt Gingrich is by no means the perfect candidate'

Four years earlier, the newspaper threw its support to Arizona Senator John McCain's bid and used front page opinion columns and editorials to boost him and criticize chief rival Mr Romney.

In the time since, Mr Romney has worked to court Union Leader publisher Joe McQuaid, who often runs columns on the newspaper's front page under his signature.



Preferences: 'We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear'

‘The Union Leader's style is we don't just endorse once,’ McQuaid told The Washington Post in 1999. ‘We endorse every damn day. We started endorsing Reagan in 1975 and never stopped.’

Mr Romney and his wife, Ann, had dinner with the McQuaids at the Bedford Village Inn near Manchester, hoping to reset the relationship earlier this year.

Yet it didn't prove enough and Mr McQuaid's newspaper seemed not to appreciate the outreach.

‘Newt Gingrich is by no means the perfect candidate,’ Mr McQuaid wrote.

‘But Republican primary voters too often make the mistake of preferring an unattainable ideal to the best candidate who is actually running.

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