With debate under their belt, GOP field looks South

ATLANTA — After debating Thursday before a national television audience, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and other Republican presidential aspirants are heading south to make their cases to a group of activists from the most conservative region of the country.

Delegates to the RedState Gathering include the kinds of activists who blog, write op-eds, make phone calls, and knock on doors in Southern states that form the base of the Republican Party, said Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of the RedState website and organizer of the event.

"There's a lot of sweat equity involved in what they do for these candidates," he said.

As they prepared to address the RedState Gathering in Atlanta, the Republican candidates also began assessing their situations in the aftermath of Thursday's debate.

Trump, who has a big lead in Republican polls, found himself on the defensive over his abrasive comments about immigrants and political rivals, his occasional disparagement of women, his commitment to the Republican Party, and the evolving nature of his views on abortion and other issues.

Trump also refused to rule out a third-party presidential bid Thursday night should he lose the Republican nomination, though he repeated Friday that is only an option.

"I just want to see if somebody gets in that I like, and if I’m treated with respect, I would not run as an independent," Trump told MSNBC. "But I want to leave the option open just in case that doesn’t happen."

Trump addresses the RedState Gathering on Saturday, as do two other top rivals, Bush and Walker.

Bush also had to defend himself during Thursday's debate. He fielded tough questions about support for an immigration plan and Common Core education standards, both of which have been attacked by RedState delegates and other conservatives.

Bush, who campaigned Friday in New Hampshire, told Fox News he feels good about where he is after the debate. "I thought I did great," the former Florida governor said. "I got to talk about the things that were important to me."

Walker had to explain his shifting positions on immigration and other issues during the Thursday event in Cleveland.  In a post-debate interview on Fox News, Walker said he wanted to avoid "picking fights with fellow Republicans," and instead "bring the fight back to Hillary Clinton."

In Atlanta, RedState delegates heard Friday morning from candidates Chris Christie, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio.

Christie, who clashed with Rand Paul during the debate in support of counter-terrorism surveillance policies, used his Atlanta speech to stress social issues like abortion and opposition to federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

“Let us not be apologetic for our position on life as conservatives," the New Jersey governor said.

Perry, relegated to an afternoon debate Thursday because he failed to land in the top ten in polling, criticized recent Supreme Court decisions on gay marriage and President Obama's health care plan. He told RedState delegates he would entertain the idea of term limits for high court justices.

"I don't do squishy on judges," said Perry, the former governor of Texas.

Fiorina, coming off what many analysts called a triumphant performance in Thursday's afternoon debate, sought to capitalize on that momentum by telling RedState delegates that her business experience gives her a better understanding of how the real world works.

Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, denounced both President Obama and 2016 Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, saying they believe in the "government economy" rather than the "real world economy."

Rubio, a participant in the prime-time debate, also told the RedState group that too many Supreme Court justices "manipulate the Constitution." The Florida senator said he would appoint justices who simply interpret the document.

Saturday's line-up features Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz as well as Trump, Bush and Walker.

The South has been a key part of the Republican political base since the 1960s. Richard Nixon employed a "Southern strategy" to win the presidency in 1968, capitalizing on regional opposition to civil rights laws and other actions by the federal government.

This year, Southern Republicans are seeking to consolidating their influence by holding primaries on the same day, including contests in Texas and Georgia.

The March 1 event is being touted as the SEC primary, named after college sports' Southeastern Conference.

Presidential candidates are "going to have to swing through the South right after South Carolina," Erickson said, referring to the stand-alone primary in the Palmetto State in February.

RedState delegates want to hear the candidates' economic plans, Erickson said, but are also interested in issues of religious liberty in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.

The theme of the event is Vision 2020, with candidates explaining how the country might look after their first term in the White House.

"The first task of any Republican Presidential candidates must be to convince the American people that they, not government, control their destiny," says the RedState website.

As in the debate, Trump's stark and sudden rise to the top of the polls will shadow the political appearances at the RedState Gathering.

There are risks for any candidate addressing a large group of conservatives, some of whom have been energized by Trump's success.

Janine Parry, professor of political science at the University of Arkansas, said it's hard enough to get attention in a field the size of the Republican race.

The attention given Trump makes it even harder, she said, pressuring candidates to say or do anything to get attention — a potentially dangerous endeavor when it comes to attracting independent votes.

"They may say things they would regret in a general election," Parry said.

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