SIPP Index Update – Santorum on the Rise

The new SIPP Index is up for this week and we have a new frontrunner. Rick Santorum took top spot on the SIPP Index for the first time and Newt fell to a decisive last place. The SIPP Index experienced a lot of movement this week and each candidate made the news in one way or another.

I know, it’s hard to be on top of all the “current political topics,” so let me help out:

• Rick Santorum got the 24 delegates given to the winner of the Louisiana Primary election and won at Missouri
• Rick Santorum blew up at NYT reporter Jeff Zeleny
• Mitt Romney gets endorsed by George H.W. Bush and Marco Rubio
• Gingrich fires one-third of this campaign staff
• Ron Paul is the first GOP candidate to appear on the ballot in all 50 states

Rick Santorum’s Week

Rick Santorum won the Louisiana Primary as well as the Missouri (nonbinding) Caucus. Missouri and Louisiana mark the 11^th and 12^th states to give Mr. Santorum the majority of their delegates. This means he will most likely continue his climb on the SIPP Index and maybe even gain ground on Mitt Romney in the polls.

In other Rick Santorum news, he cursed at New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny. Zeleny asked Rick Santorum to clarify as to whether or not he had said Mitt Romney was the worst Republican in the country and in Rick Santorum’s reply, the words “Its bulls —!” were heard. Is this a sign of strength? Or is Santorum cracking under the pressures of the race? At any rate, this outburst will be pushed around the internet and Santorum will continue to rise on the SIPP Index. It will be interesting to see how well he performs at the April 3^rd primaries.  

Mitt Romney’s Week

George H.W Bush, our 41^st president, is giving his endorsement to Mitt Romney this week and as it turns out, Marco Rubio also decided to endorse Mitt. What do these endorsements do for Romney in regards to his internet presence? The answer is not much, but if you’re worried more about his primary results, these endorsements should get him some votes especially after his big Illinois primary win.

Newt Gingrich's Week

This week Newt cleared away some obstacles in preparation for the convention and to stay in the race. "We're staying in that's exactly why we're downsizing and doing what we need to, to be able to stay in," Gingrich told WTOP radio in Washington, D.C in regards to why he laid off one-third of his campaign staff.

There was a lot of speculation as to why Newt laid off so much of his staff, but Newt is persistent in saying he is going to stay in the race until someone reaches the required 1,144 delegates. Newt has been slipping down the SIPP Index and the restructuring of his campaign staff will most likely have a negative effect on his internet presence.

Ron Paul’s Week

This week, Ron Paul became the first of the GOP candidates to on the ballot for all 50 states. This is a sign that Ron Paul isn’t planning on dropping out of the race and also a sign that Ron Paul is running an organized campaign. With this being his last shot at a presidential election, I expect Ron Paul to stay in until the nomination process is over.

In regards to Ron Paul’s SIPP presence, his dramatic drop in early March seems to have been corrected. Ron Paul’s fervent supporters won’t give up on his candidacy and that’s what will keep him ahead of Newt on the SIPP Index in the coming weeks.

Summary

After going through the major GOP candidates’ news of this past week, it’s clear that the similarities are scarce. The candidates to come out on top are Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, both of whom are gaining backing for the republican nod but in very different ways. Rick Santorum made news with his “outburst,” which won’t have any impact to his campaign aside from gaining internet market share.

Newt Gingrich restructured his campaign team to prepare for the convention, a move that has the potential to greatly diminish his internet market share. Finally, Ron Paul flew under the radar this week, steadily going about his business and becoming the first GOP candidate to appear on all 50 state ballots. Let’s hope next week is as interesting as this.