Gingrich Campaign Press Release - Video: Newt Speaks At Iowa GOP Ronald Reagan Dinner

Newt Challenges President Obama To Seven Lincoln-Douglas Style Debates If He Is the Nominee

The Washington Examiner's Byron York talked to 12 Iowans after the event, and all of them said Newt won.

For days, there's been talk of a Newt Gingrich boomlet in the Republican presidential race here in Iowa. After Friday night's Reagan Dinner at Hy-Vee Hall in downtown Des Moines, that Gingrich boomlet talk might turn into talk of a Gingrich boom.

Five candidates -- Gingrich, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul -- addressed a crowd of about 1,000 GOP faithful at the state Republican party's biggest fundraiser of the year. In brief interviews after the dinner -- the only question was which speaker did the best job -- audience members were unanimous: Gingrich, Gingrich, Gingrich.

"It was Newt," said Chad Kleppe of Waukee, Iowa. "I think he's the smartest one in the field."

"Gingrich knocked it out of the park," said Earlene Nordstrom of Fort Dodge, Iowa.

"Newt," said Tim Heldt of Johnston. "The energy in the room picked up. It didn't feel like a stump speech."

"He is so good," said Becky Ervin of Urbandale. "I want to see a debate between him and Obama."

"I would have to say Newt Gingrich might have convinced me to caucus for him," said Eric Johansen of Grimes. "I've been undecided up to this point."

In a dozen interviews, the score was Gingrich 12, the rest of the field 0. That doesn't mean everyone will vote for Gingrich at the January 3 Iowa caucuses -- voters here reserve the right to hold off on making a final decision until the night of the voting -- but they certainly walked away impressed with the former House speaker.

The Iowa Republican's Craig Robinson and Kevin Hall also declared Newt the winner.

The former U.S. House speaker shined again. Gingrich started by individually praising each of the other four participants at the dinner. That was a classy move that did not go unnoticed. He joked that he would have complimented the other GOP candidates if they had bothered to show up.

The crowd loved Gingrich's comment that "the White House will be my scheduler" in a general election campaign. Newt said he would visit every single town right after Barack Obama campaigns there, much like Abraham Lincoln did when challenging Stephen Douglas in an 1858 Illinois senate race. He would also challenge Obama to seven Lincoln/Douglas-style debates. The thought of a Gingrich/Obama debate has some Republicans salivating.

Kevin's Overall Winner: Gingrich. He excelled and likely solidified some support. All of the candidates did well, but Newt was on his game, as usual.

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Craig's Overall Winner: Santorum and Gingich. The room only showed some life for two candidates last night – Santorum and Gingrich. There is a growing sense that these two serious thinkers are about to get their time in the spotlight. Santorum and Gingrich were the clear winners last night.

The National Review's Katrina Trinko wrote "it was Newt Gingrich's night."

So is it Gingrich's time in Iowa? Lynn Kuhn, a landscape architect from Iowa and a year-long Gingrich supporter, says she's hearing from fellow Iowans that they're giving him another look.

"I'll use my husband as an example," Kuhn says. "He'd been … bouncing around with different candidates and … landed on Newt because he's so consistent, he hangs in there where the others kind of come and go. "

And tonight's dinner did nothing to hurt that possible burgeoning momentum.

"Let's be honest," she says. "He won the night."

Kathie Obradovich, the political columnist for the Des Moines Register, said Newt had the crowd "eating out of his hand."

Rick Santorum woke up the crowd at tonight's Ronald Reagan Dinner, but it was Newt Gingrich who had them eating out of his hand.

Gingrich was "amazing," gushed state Sen. Nancy Boettger, a supporter of Michele Bachmann.

Gingrich capped a series of five speeches from GOP presidential candidates. A segment of the crowd of nearly 1,000 people gave the former U.S. House speaker a standing ovation and cheers after his 10-minute speech.

Boettger, a Harlan Republican, said Gingrich was "such a statesman, and a "class act" for paying a compliment to each of his opponents who attended the fundraiser.

The New York Times reports that the crowd gravitated to Newt after the event.

A crowd gathered around Mr. Gingrich after the speech. Stephen Quist, head of the 800-member college Republicans at Iowa State University, said Mr. Gingrich helped himself "by far the most."

"He changed the rhetoric a bit," Mr. Quist said, "and tried to act as a uniter."

Craig Williams, a member of the state Republican central committee who said he hadn't endorsed anyone yet, agreed, saying the former speaker "hit a home run tonight."

NBC's First Read observes that Newt has gotten the strongest response from Iowa conservatives at three straight events.

For the third Iowa candidate confab in a row, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won one of the strongest responses from the conservative audience. (He was equally well received at the National Association of Manufacturers Forum this week and at an Iowa Faith and Freedom forum two weeks ago.)

Gingrich spent much of his speech praising the four other rivals with whom he shared the stage. "This is a great group. There are a couple I wish were here tonight. I would have said nice things about them. But we'll skip over that," he said. "I am here with very fine competitors, but no opponents. We only have one opponent, that's Barack Obama."

Gingrich also brought up his idea of Lincoln-Douglas style debates, promising he will hold President Obama to them if he is the nominee.

"If I end up as the nominee, in my acceptance speech if the president has not yet agreed, I will announce that from that day forward for the rest of the campaign, the White House will be my scheduler," Gingrich told the crowd to cheers. "Wherever the president appears, I will appear four hours later."

Lynn Campbell from IowaPolitics.com notes that Newt was the only candidate to receive a standing ovation.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich was the only Republican presidential candidate to receive a standing ovation from an audience of 1,000 at the Republican Party of Iowa's Reagan Dinner.

Gingrich wowed them, just as he did at two other recent Iowa events with multiple Republican presidential candidates.

"I have to say Newt Gingrich really, I think, carried the show," said Laura Macy, of Ohio, who attended the event with Rodney Skinner, of Ottumwa, and identified themselves as being in their early 60s. "He was amazing, because he was very gracious in complimenting his competitors, and then, he just ran away, I think with the whole crowd."

"I couldn't add more than that," said Skinner.