Newt Gingrich may be stumping in Iowa, but he’s in a New York state of mind.
Gingrich yesterday ranted that front-runner Mitt Romney is trying to buy the presidential nomination — the same way billionaire Mike Bloomberg bought the mayoralty.
It’s the second time in a week that Gingrich has slammed Bloomberg’s wealth.
“You figure out — between 2007 and 2008 and 2011 and 2012 — how many dollars per vote Romney has spent and it will rival Bloomberg,’’ Gingrich told reporters after attending Mass at St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines.
Bloomberg, Gingrich said, “did buy an election. Romney would buy the election if he could.”
Even some in the Gingrich camp were scratching their heads about their boss’ obsession with Hizzoner.
“Oh, boy, one question too many,” Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond quipped to reporters afterward.
Gingrich has been bludgeoned by an onslaught of negative attack ads in Iowa led by Restore Our Future, a Super-PAC backing Romney.
For his part, Bloomberg held his peace yesterday.
“We have no comment on Gingrich’s remarks,” said mayoral spokesman Stu Loeser.
But one Bloomberg fan joked that Gingrich’s spokesman has “better judgment than Newt does,” and “unfortunately for Newt, the voters have better judgment, too.”