Gingrich's fall prompts Ron Paul rise leading up to Iowa caucuses

SALT LAKE CITY -- Former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, the Republican front-runner by a slim margin, has taken a hit over the last few weeks since assuming the GOP spotlight. Gingrich's political history, linked with his involvement in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the negative ads released by opposing candidates have contributed to Gingrich's sinking campaign.

But who are the benefactors to Gingrich's drop, if any, going into primary season?

Currently, the momentum is shifting to Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a staunch Libertarian candidate who refuses to bend or deter from his "revolution" message. That message has spurned a fire from exuberant supporters, who tout Paul's record at every opportunity available, leading grassroots efforts to make Paul the GOP nominee.

Paul, who leads the GOP race in Iowa by six percent in one recent poll, has become a viable candidate after once being considered a fringe candidate. And as Paul continues to increase his support leading up to the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, many are curious to see if he will survive the remainder of the race and go the distance, securing the GOP nomination.

Iowa is the ideal location for Paul to obtain an early victory, with caucus-goers likely to organize large support for the Texas Congressman. CNN Contributor John P. Avlon wrote about Paul's likely success in Iowa, saying: "Organization matters in the Iowa caucus, and Paul's volunteers are going to show up in force."

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"He deserves great credit for being philosophically consistent on the issue, even during the Bush era when many conservatives were reluctant to criticize their administration's core foreign policy innovation," Avlon added. "And many of his ideas helped animate the early days of the Tea Party protests."

However, most political insiders believe Paul will struggle in primary states, where a large organization will have a lesser impact. Furthermore, Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg predicts the Iowa caucus will lose relevance if Paul wins the Hawkeye State.

"But let's not kid ourselves," Carlson writes. "There's nothing representative about Iowa. Whites make up 91.3 percent of the state's 3 million citizens, compared with 64 percent of the country at large."

"Paul's late surge this year may help nudge Iowa back toward political obscurity. Giving the nod to a novelty candidate like Paul would further undermine Iowa's already shaky claim to first-in-the-nation status," Carlson continues. "A unique politician? Yes. The Republican nominee? Never."

Related political news:

• Before a candidate declares their candidacy for president, several websites associated with the candidate's name are typically purchased to spare negative material being associated with the name. However, the Gingrich campaign failed to purchase the website newtgingrich.com, and a Democratic group, which currently owns the domain rights, has used the domain to redirect viewers to other sites associated with Gingrich this year.

The website directs viewers to Tiffany's, Freddie Mac, articles about Gingrich's campaign implosion or a travel guide to Greece. The Democratic group posted a listing on Craigslist, offering to sell the domain rights for $1 million. "We though of giving it away, but we wouldn't want to be accused of being socialist," the listing says. "So, make your best offer. We're asking for $1 million, but we'd be happy to accept $500,000 in bling. Heck in the spirit of Christmas we might even let it go for $10,000."

1. Rick Perry's campaign recently released a new ad, with his wife, Anita Perry, describing the couple's relationship and their Christian values. However, it is the sudden appearance of Rick Perry at the end of the ad that has viewers scratching their head, as Perry pounces on scene.

2. The former New Mexico Governor and once Republican presidential hopeful Gary Johnson, announced his plans to run as the Libertarian candidate in 2012, citing his lack of exposure in the GOP as his reason for dropping out of the Republican race. "His exclusion from the debates and lack of acknowledgement from the Republican establishment has been very frustrating," Johnson's campaign spokesman Joe Hunter told NBC News. "His commitment since day one is to get his message out."

   Johnson participated in one Republican debate over the summer, but did not get many questions directed to him during the debate. Additionally, Johnson is never listed in national polling when voters consider Republican presidential hopefuls. Email: jfurlong@ksl.com

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