Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid let slip Wednesday that he considers former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to be the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, Mr. Reid, sparring with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, alleged Republicans were taking a page from Mr. Gingrich’s playbook, citing the 1996 government shutdown led, in part, by Mr. Gingrich.
“I think that everyone can see very clearly that my friends on the other side of the aisle obviously want to have the government shutdown,” said Mr. Reid.
“And as I’ve said before,” Mr. Reid continued, “they have had experience doing this. That presumptive Republican nominee, Newt Gingrich, tried that once. And it didn’t work so well.”
Mr. Reid’s comment comes as a series of recently released polls show Mr. Gingrich gaining on former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The Massachusetts Republican, who has long been considered the front-runner for the Republican nomination, has increased his criticism of Mr. Gingrich in recent days.
Speaking Wednesday, Mr. Romney slammed the former House speaker, saying he does not understand the economy and would not create jobs.
“Unfortunately the speaker’s way off on that,” Mr. Romney said on Fox News. “In my enterprise, we had the occasion to help build tens of thousands of jobs, and he doesn’t understand the economy if he doesn’t understand that sometimes businesses succeed and sometimes fail.”
Analysts say the latest poll results reflect the risk that Republicans could face if they nominate Mr. Gingrich, whose strong performances in debates have won him support among conservatives seeking an alternative to Romney.
The Georgia Republican has a long record of making provocative statements that could alienate independent voters, such as when he recently referred to Palestinians as an “invented” people.
