Gingrich receives Tea Party support

By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

Updated

Updated 3:57 p.m. ET

GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich picked up the endorsement of Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips.

Phillips wrote a blog post today saying the former House speaker is "electable" and compared Gingrich, who lags in national polls on the GOP nomination, to conservative icon Ronald Reagan.

Phillips also said Gingrich is a "great contrast" to President Obama, given his accomplishments in Congress. Some of his reasons:

"First, he is a conservative. Perhaps not as conservative as some would like, but remember no candidate is perfect. Newt is electable. If you have seen the GOP debates, Gingrich has been the best debater. He does really well in that format and he looks presidential," Phillips wrote.

Speaking of endorsements, Herman Cain got a shout-out today from comedian Dennis Miller after appearing on his radio show. Miller tweeted:

Here's an idea for Herman Cain's next bumper sticker: "Cain Versus Not Able."

Cain, who's getting all kinds of media attention since his upset victory in the Florida straw poll, tweeted back "love it!"

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia anchors the On Politics community. Catalina has focused on politics as a reporter or editor for much of her career. She was White House editor for USA TODAY during the 2008 presidential election and covered the GOP's grip on Congress in the mid-1990s for The Dallas Morning News. She has also been a journalist at nearly every national political convention since 1992. Her interests include baseball, movies, travel and cooking. A native of San Francisco, she is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

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