GOP leaders say no plot to push Romney

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Republican congressional leaders are denying the existence of anything unseemly to help Mitt Romney secure the party nomination for U.S. president.

Romney has attracted solid support among congressional GOP legislators, attracting 55 endorsements so far, a tally by The Hill indicated. Front-runner Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, has only seven.

Talk has surfaced this month that leadership members could be trying to influence the race by having their lieutenants back Romney over Gingrich. Neither House Speaker John Boehner nor Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has endorsed a candidate.

Such speculation is untrue, aides and leadership members told The Hill.

"When I endorsed Governor Romney, it was before Herman Cain even took off ... and Speaker Gingrich himself described he was 'left for dead' … but he was the only one who didn't know he was dead," GOP leadership Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon said.

Interest is high and discussions deep about who the better candidate would be to campaign against President Obama, said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the former House GOP campaign chief.

"A lot of people wonder, is there really a new Newt? A lot of people wonder, still, what's Romney's conservative, philosophical core? And then, which one is going to help or hurt me the most?," Cole told The Hill.

Several lawmakers, speaking anonymously, said they thought Gingrich would implode in the general election.

"If Newt Gingrich is the nominee, we lose. That's pretty much what everybody says," one Republican lawmaker said, adding that the former speaker "can't win" against President Obama.