Posted on 01/14/2012 3:50:40 PM PST by Bigtigermike
(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has opened a wide lead over his rivals in the South Carolina primary election race, trouncing Newt Gingrich and gaining momentum in his march toward the party's nomination, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, could all but quash his rivals' presidential aspirations with a victory in South Carolina on January 21 after winning the first state-by-state nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Voters in South Carolina - who have favored Republicans in nine of the last 10 presidential elections - appear to have shrugged off attacks on Romney by rivals who accuse him of killing jobs as a private equity executive for Bain Capital in the 1990s.
The poll showed 37 percent of South Carolina Republican voters back Romney. Congressman Ron Paul and former Senator Rick Santorum tied for second place with 16 percent support.
Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, has fallen far back after holding a strong lead in South Carolina in December. He was in fourth place at 12 percent in the Reuters/Ipsos poll.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Are you a real SC voter? If you are, you know that SC presidential primaries are held on Saturdays, not Tuesdays.
Perry was my choice and he could have beaten Obama. But unfortunately those early mis-steps have done him in. (same as what happened to Palin) Not just for this election cycle, but forever on a national stage. He can probably be a senator or cabinet official or something.
Newt did great in the debates. Stayed positive and only attacked Obama (and the media). Quick on his feet, and great grasp of the facts and very intellectual. But his past has hurt him and would in a general election. And he blew it on Bain Capital big time. Along with going negative (I know Romney started it). Now he has helped Mitt in the general election by getting the Bain Capital issue out there now. Has a weak campaign organization (ie Virginia Primary). Newt cannot beat Obama in the general. But I would love to see him debate Obama. He’s smoke Obama. But the debates usually don’t mean much anymore.
Santorum - would make a very good president. But I just don’t see him having the organization to win the primary. It takes a billion dollars, a top notch staff, and the backing of the establish (yes it does) to win. Obama escalated the presidential race to unbelievable levels in 2008. I just don’t see Santorum making it through 50 states in the primary. If he could win the nomination, he might beat Obama after getting the RNC and the establishment behind him.
I like about 50% of what Paul stands for. But the other 50% is what makes him not only unelectable, but toxic. Lets hope he doesnt go 3rd party, or it will absolutely guarantee a 2nd Obama term.
So in the end, Mitt will get the nomination. He may not be my candidate or your candidate. But in the end, our choices are going to be Obama or Romney. Regardless of what we want in a candidate, you can only choose between what is available. So you either vote for Romney or vote for Obama (either by voting for him, or not voting at all). And that is all of our rights.
But the stakes are too great for our country the next 4 years. Mitt may not be the most conservative out there, but he is 100 times better than Obama.
All the SC polls have Romney ahead. Anywhere from 2-21 points. It will be close I believe. Even if Newt wins, it will only keep him in the game another week or two. Unless he can string together 3-4 back to back wins.
Your Mother was a hamster.
Not ALL. I don't agree. I think he is is slippery. And a fool to gain support and piss it away because of this public pissing contest with Romney. This is a golden opportunity for all in this race to go after Obama but they are trashing capitalism and each other while Obama sits around waiting to use these campaign commercials in the general election.
Your boy isn't as smart as you think he is.
Agreed.
I'm as pro-technology as you can get. I remember the days when CompuServe first put a half-dozen newspapers online for people using **VERY** low speed dialup connections from TRS-80 or other personal computers.
However, we need to remember that regular use of the internet correlates with younger people, urban residents, and higher education levels — not necessarily the sort of demographics favorable to old-school conservatives. For every conservative we know who loves Free Republic, we can probably think of many others who use their computers for email at most, or may not even have a computer in their home.
The demographic groups most likely to object to Romney are those most likely not to be selected in this poll.
On the other hand, if Romney does win South Carolina, we have a massive problem on our hands. Carolina conservatives need to do everything in their power to fight against him, preferably by unifying behind a single candidate who is a real conservative.
Mitt Romney is seeking to win in South Carolina for the same reason that the Kennedys fought to win West Virginia. If a Massachussetts Mormon moderate can win in the heart of the right-wing Bible Belt, Romney will be able to make a credible claim that his opponents are wrong about the way real conservatives feel.
He simply must be stopped in South Carolina.
the polled DEMOCRATS about who they wanted in the REPUBLICAN primary???
Well that explains why Romney got so much
Many of our primaries are 'open' because the ruling class RINO establishment wants them that way.
These people aren't Republican. They're not Democrat. Hell, they're not even American. They've simply wrested control of our political system for theirs' and their cronies' advantage.
From the Gaffney Ledger newspaper facebook site...
Cody Sossamon(Editor)
Something fishy was going on with our poll as more than 400 votes were cast for Ron Paul in a very short period. We have reset the vote count and will monitor the voting.
22 posted on Saturday, January 14, 2012 6:05:11 PM by neal1960 (D m cr ts S ck. Would you like to buy a vowel?)
It's pretty easy to "stack" an internet poll; that is why they are notoriously unreliable. I certainly won't base any decisions or worry about it. And Romney won't get my vote, regardless of ANY polling data.
This was an online Poll??? Well, sheit, I’m out of here.
Well I want to see the cross tabs. Like I said, I find it strange and odd that the poll would push down Newt but not Santorum.
I am not concerned at all about the big Romney number.
LOL! Perfect!
I have been polled before, and when I answered a question the way they didn’t expect, my poll was cut short. How did I know I answered “incorrectly”? First, they told me the poll would last from 3 to 5 minutes of my time, and the poll ended in less than 30 seconds; second, after my poll-ending answer, there was long pause and a curt “thank you for your time”. Click.
I have been skeptical of polls since then.
The crosstabs tell the story here.
Yikes, this needs an alert that it is an online poll. The headline about gave me a heart attack!
148 posted on Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:44:32 PM by My Favorite Headache: “Is S.C. an open primary state as well? Why does the GOP allow open primaries to begin with? Talk about instant suicide.”
Valid point.
This needs to be addressed. I have always opposed open primaries and they are especially dangerous in years like this one when Democrats who do not have a contested race can jump into the Republican race and cause problems. If I were a Democrat I would say the same thing about Republican disruptions of their primaries.
I grew up in a state without political party registration. I live in one now. It’s a bad thing.
I understand the historical reasons — there was a day when being a registered member of the disfavored party could cause serious problems with employment and other forms of harassment — but those days are long gone.
The Iowa caucus system does a good job of keeping people in their own parties. I like the system and it would work well in most rural states. I realize it’s not practical in large urban states, but primaries with political party registration at least 30 days in advance make sense in larger states.
While we may disagree on any number of issues, I will never knowingly argue with a person of your vintage. You have already earned the win.
I wish you a good evening.
He's a LIAR on every major issue that is important to conservatives!
Can someone explain to me how a poll with 49% Democrat respondents in a CLOSED PRIMARY is nothing but an attempt at spin?
I do not like and will not believe another poll as long as I live. If I put faith in these things anymore, I’d about have to give up and not vote.
My Reasoning:
If a poll says BYU is #1 in college ball (pick a season), and people believed that poll, why would anyone bother to play BYU?
Political polls are an untidy business of making us into mush and measuring us by the pound. There’s no accounting for water weight.
Good and respectful post, Gator113.
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