DeMint: GOP will unite behind candidate
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint said Sunday that "Republicans are going to be very united" around a Republican presidential nominee, regardless of who emerges victorious from the nominating process.
In an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," DeMint said he'd "feel fine" about any of the Republicans currently vying for the nomination, and that the rest of the party would rally around the eventual nominee as well.
"I'd feel fine about any of our candidates," he told CBS' Bob Schieffer. "Frankly, I think you're going to see Republicans and Independents unite behind whoever our nominee is because the further we get into this administration the more worried Americans are getting.
"I think Republicans are going to be very united," he added.
As South Carolina's January 21 primary nears, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has a strong lead in the polls despite his rivals' efforts to take him down. Some have questioned the candidate's ability to earn the support of social conservatives and Tea Party members.
"I don't think there's anyone who can speak for the Tea Parties," DeMint said. "There are thousands of Tea Party groups around the country, and Romney is now polling well in South Carolina... And frankly, he's polling well ahead of what I did in my primary."
"Again, I think you're going to see the people in South Carolina and all over the country unite behind a Republican nominee," he continued. "They're all good men and I think they'll all do a much better job than our current president."
The South Carolina Republican stressed that internal Republican division surrounding the GOP nominee was "not unusual."
"It's not unusual when you have a number of good candidates, which I think we do, for people to be divided. What I hope is that our eventual nominee will recognize the strengths of the other candidates and take a lot of those ideas and incorporate it into a platform that will unite us, and I think they will," DeMint said.
He reiterated that he will not endorse a Republican candidate, pledging instead to devote his efforts to strengthening the cause of Senate conservatives.
"I'm going to keep my focus on the Senate Conservatives Fund," he said. "The best thing I can do for the next president is to help deliver a conservative Senate because it's the Congress that does the legislation, that does the budgets. And if we send good legislation over to any of these candidates, I think they'll sign it."