New Support, New Challenges and New Challengers

New Support: Mitt Romney has landed the support of Former Massachusetts governor William F. Weld who, interestingly, is a long-time friend of Rudy Giuliani. Is this a sign that even Giuliani's long-time friends and associates doubt his ability to mount a serious primary run? Another big pick up is South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, who endorsed Romney today (which splits South Carolina's Senate delegation, with Lindsay Graham supporting John McCain). This is significant because Romney has lagged far behind McCain in garnering support in South Carolina.

New Challenges: Sam Brownback tried to steal some of the thunder of Romney's fundraising campaign yesterday by announcing the support of seven conservative activists from Massachusetts who are backing him over Romney. In releasing the names of these activists, Brownback spokesman Rob Wasinger said Brownback's conservative record was "an asset that money just cannot buy" and that these activists decided to support Brownback because they "are tired of all the compromise and double-speak and are eager to support a true conservative."

New Challengers: Former Governor of Virginia Jim Gilmore officially threw his hat into the presidential race yesterday by filing with the F.E.C. to form an exploratory committee. He had announced last month that he was thinking of funning because of the absence of what he considered a true conservative.