Tea party members ponder GOP field

The fluid nature of the race for the GOP presidential nomination this year has local members of the tea party movement mulling their choices but also taking the long view.

With conservative favorite Michele Bachmann dropping out after a poor showing in the Iowa caucus, some members said they're intrigued by a late rising candidate, former U.S. senator Rick Santorum.

"I'm probably more of the camp for Santorum," said Tom Shurtz, 70, of the Sutter Buttes Tea Party. But like many tea party activists, he said, he's most concerned about fiscal and U.S. debt issues.

Craig Christensen, director of the Yuba-Sutter Tea Party Patriots, said he's still kicking the tires on the candidacies of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Santorum and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Still, he and Shurtz both said they believe former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has the best shot at winning the nomination, even if he's more moderate than they would prefer.

"He's not maybe as aggressive as he needs to be when he's in office," said Christensen, of Yuba City. "There's a need for serious changes."

Both men said they'd emphasize they were speaking only for themselves and not for their respective groups, which as registered not-for-profit organizations, don't endorse political candidates.

Christensen said he believes many of his fellow tea party members, like him, are also waiting to see what twists come next, with several months still before California's primary election gives them a direct chance to weigh in.

They've come to that stance after earlier conservative darlings, such as Perry and businessman Herman Cain, flew high and then faltered, or in Cain's case dropped out entirely after reports of sexual harassment began to mount.

However, one prominent local supporter of Perry, who saw his stock drop after awkward debate performances, said he believes his guy can still resurge.

"I think he has an uphill battle, and all the candidates who are running are good candidates," said Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Lake Wildwood, who campaigned for Perry before the caucus, where Perry finished fifth.

"He's the only one with a track record of creating jobs and growing the economy," Logue said.

If Perry explains his poor debate performances — Logue said he'd just had back surgery at the time and wasn't at his best — his support could surge again, Logue said. "When he ran for governor, he was a tremendous debater," Logue said.

Whoever emerges, Shurtz and Christensen said they're ready to support him, because the ultimate goal is still to keep Democrat Barack Obama from winning another term as president.

Christensen's son Kevin, also active in the tea party, said he gets the same feeling from those he talks to locally and in other states.

"There's not one candidate that I've been able to say, 'that's my guy'" said Kevin Christensen, a student at U.C. Davis. "It's anybody but Obama."

The longer the GOP race goes, the better, Shurtz said.

"The longer it's in the public eye, the more we can get our message out," he said.

CONTACT Ben van der Meer at bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4786. Find him on Facebook at /ADbvandermeer or on Twitter at @ADbvandermeer.