Former presidential adviser Karl Rove says although candidate Mitt Romney is leading the GOP nominee hopeful pack, his advantage is not so substantial that he can truly be considered a front-runner. Rove also told Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly the race for the Republican nomination will be “unlike any contest we’ve had for over 60 years.”
“This race is far from over — and he is not way out in front,” Rove said, referring to the latest Gallup poll, which has Romney favored by 24 percent of Americans likely to vote Republican. “By comparison at this point n 1999, George W. Bush was at 52; Elizabeth Dole was at 20; Dan Quayle at nine; and 15 points was shared by nine other candidates.
“So this is — this is not a big lead. It’s the biggest lead he’s — he’s received thus far but it is not the typical front-runner lead,” Rove said. “This contest is going to be unlike any contest we’ve had for over 60 years. And that is . . . it is going to have essentially no front-runner.”