Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich drew more than 300 spectators to Dodson Auditorium on Thursday evening at an event that also included representatives for Ron Paul’s and Rick Santorum’s campaigns.
Gingrich, who wore a purple and gold tie, said he “changes ties” but “doesn’t change his policies.”
During his 15-minute speech, Gingrich focused on energy policy and gas prices.
“Obama can’t buy enough ads to convince me that gas is cheap,” he said. “We do not want any American president to bow to a Saudi king.”
Thursday’s forum and subsequent straw poll was hosted by the LSU College Republicans and sponsored by the Baton Rouge Tea Party to rally supporters behind Republican candidates before Saturday’s state primary.
Tiffany Lemons, political science and history senior and vice president at the LSU College Republicans, said the group was asked by members of the Baton Rouge Tea Party to host a forum where presidential candidates and representatives could answer questions prior to the Louisiana primary.
“Our organization jumped at the opportunity to bring presidential candidates to LSU’s campus because we felt there was no better place to represent Louisiana on a national level than it’s flagship institution,” she said.
 
 
The College Republicans worked with Campus Life, the LSU Police Department, the BRTP and campaign representatives to ensure the event was safe and unbiased, Lemons said.
“[The forum] is especially significant since we have four potential Republican candidates and usually by this late in the game, Louisiana doesn’t see this much attention because a clear nominee is typically decided,” Lemons said.
Mitt Romney was the only candidate who was not represented at the forum.
Mark Holmes, treasurer of the Baton Rouge Tea Party, said he was disappointed that Romney did not send a representative to the forum.
“You think with all the people who work in his campaign that he could find one person to come to LSU,” he said. “It doesn’t bode well for people at LSU who wanted to hear what his camp had to say.”
Gingrich’s speech also found the candidate boasting that he can be the one to beat Obama in the fall.
“My No. 1 qualification is that I’m not Barack Obama,” he said.
But not all in attendance agreed with that message.
Alex Velasquez, Ron Paul representative, said Paul would be the best candidate for president based on his commitment to the constitution.
“We are battling together against the current administration,” he said. “Paul never voted to raise taxes, never voted for an unbalanced budget, and never voted to raise congressional pay. Paul is the only candidate that is consistent and that you can trust.”
Mike Bayham, representative for Rick Santorum, said Republicans need to get behind a conservative who can win, and if Santorum were to win the presidency, his first priority would be to repeal Obamacare.
“We can’t afford to have the conservative vote split anymore,” he said. “Santorum has a track record of a consistent conservative.”
Bayham also said Louisiana voters feel a connection to Santorum’s authenticity.
“They see that he’s not pretentious and that he has the same struggles as many average Americans,” he said.
 
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]