House Speaker John Boehner, the Ohio Republican, has not commented about the 2012 Republican primary race often, but on Wednesday he stated that the primary process would “resolve itself” sooner or later.
Mr. Boehner’s comments came Wednesday following a decisive win by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the Florida Republican primary election. Following Mr. Romney’s win, rival candidate Newt Gingrich vowed to return to Florida as “the nominee in August,” signaling his refusal to drop out of the race at any time in the near future.
Additionally, Texas congressman Ron Paul has also stated that he plans on remaining in the race until the Republican national convention this summer. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum also stated Tuesday that he still believes he is the best “conservative alternative” to Mr. Romney in the race. Mr. Gingrich made the same claim Tuesday, which could mean that all four of them plan on staying in the race through the summer.
In recent weeks Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney have engaged in a negative back and forth battle between their campaigns. Mr. Gingrich has called into question Mr. Romney’s record of “killing jobs” and bankrupting companies at Bain Capital by loading them up with debt.
Mr. Romney has questioned Mr. Gingrich’s past relationship with failed mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
Democratic strategists have frequently claimed that the bitter in fighting will give President Barack Obama plenty of material to use in the fall, stating that he can simply draw from their own criticism of each other.
During a press conference with reporters Wednesday, the lead Republican lawmaker gave his opinion on the matter.
“I understand that people are concerned about how long the primary process is dragging out. I would remind people that President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a fight that went through June of 2008,” said Mr. Boehner. “So I think everybody just needs to relax and this will resolve itself.”
Many of the top Republicans in both chambers of Congress have remained neutral throughout the Republican primary race.
The only House Republican to endorse a candidate was U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican. Mr. Hensarling endorsed Texas Governor Rick Perry in August, shortly after Mr. Perry entered the race.
The Ohio Republican served in Congress during the 1990s while Mr. Gingrich was the speaker of House, and was complimentary of Mr. Gingrich during a December interview with Politico. He called Mr. Gingrich a “big thinker” but stopped short of offering an endorsement of any of the remaining Republican presidential candidates.
In contrast to Mr. Boehner’s belief that the primary will “resolve itself,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican, has previously stated that he wishes the race would end in a more timely fashion.
It will be interesting to see if Mr. Boehner changes his perspective as he enters a re-election year just like the president. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, recently stated that she believes Democrats will take back control of the House in November.
Mr. Boehner’s comments on Wednesday are similar to those of Mr. Romney who believes the tough primary process will prepare him for the fall, as he stated during his victory speech in Florida Tuesday night.
“A competitive primary does not divide us, it prepares us,” said Mr. Romney.
