Around Philly, Republicans in the ring with Romney

If Tuesday's Iowa caucus results are any indication, choosing a presidential candidate comes much easier to the likes of Delaware County GOP veteran Wallace Nunn than to Republicans in the Hawkeye State.

"Nobody's going to give you everything you want, but you make a decision," the former County Council chairman said. "My wife's not everything I'd want, but she's a pretty good woman. We've been together 37 years, and that's worked out fine."

Apologies to Mrs. Nunn, but her husband's certitude echoed a sentiment heard from GOP heavyweights across Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Tuesday night as Iowa Republicans struggled to choose among Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum in a nail-biter of a race for first place in the caucuses, the first step in the GOP's nominating process.

In short: Folks around here are ready to put a ring on Romney while Iowa plays the field.

"I desperately want us to beat Barack Obama," Nunn said. "The person most likely to give me that wish is Mitt Romney."

While many had predicted a strong showing for Romney in the nation's first primary, the success of Paul, a Houston-area congressman, and Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, came as something of a surprise.

"Romney didn't view Santorum that significantly until tonight," said Pennsylvania-based Republican strategist Charlie Gerow. "That's going to change."

But even as they predicted Santorum might now have some staying power in the primaries, Republicans in his home state were not exactly ready to line up behind him.

An outspoken social conservative well-known for stances against abortion and gay rights, Santorum's views are out of touch with the more socially moderate counties of the Philadelphia suburbs, said former Montgomery County Commissioner James R. Matthews, a Republican.

"We need a guy who can project jobs and economic strength," he said. "I would say Romney cleans up here."

So far, fund-raising numbers from the area seem to support that prediction. In Philadelphia and its suburbs, Romney was winning the GOP money race, according to the most recent campaign finance figures available.

From January to September 2010, he took in nearly $375,000 locally, nearly tripling the haul of Santorum, his next closest GOP rival.

Across the Delaware River, Romney's $55,000 take from South Jersey kept him well ahead of a second-place Paul, who brought in nearly $17,000.

Those figures only bolster Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton's view that no matter what the Iowa tally, New Jersey GOP voters, too, aren't likely to be swayed by ideological extremes.

Look at former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2008 Iowa win - and eventual defeat by John McCain - for proof of how telling the caucuses can be, Layton said.

"Ask [U.S. Rep.] Michele Bachmann about Iowa. She won the straw poll," he said. "I just think sometimes Iowa doesn't necessarily have their finger on the pulse of the nation."

Inquirer staff writers Amy Worden and Joelle Farrell contributed to this article.