Delaware takes pride in being the first state to ratify the Constitution -- but the Blue Hen State has been the last state for Republican presidential hopefuls before and it could be shaping up to put the nail in the coffin of Newt Gingrich’s presidential bid.

While it is not expected to be competitive in November (with Delaware’s own Joe Biden as his running mate, Barack Obama took 63 percent there in 2008), Gingrich has targeted the Blue Hen State, which holds its primary April 24 along with four other states in the region: Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Gingrich campaigned in Delaware -- which will have 17 delegates at the Republican convention in Tampa come August -- this week, hitting Dover on Wednesday and Thursday. The former congressional leader also campaigned in Delaware earlier in the month when he unveiled the support of Republican legislator Gary Simpson, the minority leader in the Delaware Senate.

Another member of the Delaware Senate announced this week he is backing Gingrich -- Dave Lawson, a Vietnam veteran and former law enforcement officer.

“Newt Gingrich is a downstate conservative who understands not only the issues important to the citizens of Delaware and America, but the solutions to fix those issues,” Lawson said. “I am proud to support Newt for president because I know he is the only candidate who has the experience and the vision to return conservative values to American government.”

“I’m honored to have Senator Lawson’s support,” Gingrich said. “He is a true conservative and his support of our campaign reinforces the fact that this is a citizens’ movement to restore American values.”

While he has won only two contests -- South Carolina and his home state of Georgia -- and trails Mitt Romney badly in the delegate count, Gingrich continues to insist that he will stay in the race. This week the Gingrich campaign unveiled a Web video with supporters offering testimony about why they are backing the former congressional leader who continues to refer to himself as “the last conservative standing” in the race.



Still, a loss in Delaware could hurt Gingrich considering the amount of time he has focused on it. While the state has produced only one Republican presidential candidate in recent decades -- former Gov. Pete du Pont back in 1988, incidentally the last year Republicans carried it in a presidential election -- Delaware has shaped contests for the Republican presidential nomination.

Delaware was one of two states that publisher Steve Forbes carried in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996. Forbes had high hopes in the Blue Hen State when he ran again in 2000 but he fared badly this time out, taking third place behind George W. Bush and John McCain. After his performance in Delaware, Forbes dropped out of the race.

Besides Delaware, Gingrich has also targeted North Carolina which holds its primary -- along with Indiana and West Virginia -- on May 8.



Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.