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Poll: Romney slipping in South Carolina, holds just 2 point lead over Gingrich
thehill.com/blogs ^ | 1/12/2012 | Justin Sink

Posted on 01/12/2012 7:12:19 AM PST by TBBT

Despite a historic sweep of the first two nominating contests in the GOP field, Mitt Romney holds just a two percentage point lead in South Carolina, his smallest lead of 2012.

Romney is the favorite of 23 percent of South Carolina voters, narrowly edging Newt Gingrich's 21 percent, according to the latest poll from Insider Advantage. Rick Santorum pulls 14 percent of Palmetto state voters, while Ron Paul rounds out the top four with 13 percent. Jon Huntsman's seven percent and Rick Perry's five percent trail the pack.

The numbers could indicate that Gingrich's aggressive strategy - which has included controversial attacks on Mitt Romney's business and abortion records - is gaining him traction by hurting the GOP frontrunner.

In the three other major South Carolina polls completed in the new year, Romney was earning 37 percent, 27 percent, and 30 percent, according to Real Clear Politics - meaning his 23 percent in the latest poll marks a precipitous decline.

Gingrich, meanwhile, has maintained a steady band of support between 18 and 23 percent.

The poll may also signal the beginning of the end of the Santorum boomlet, who has fallen 10 percentage points from a Rasmussen poll released just after his near-win in the Iowa caucuses. That too could help Gingrich, who hopes conservatives in South Carolina will rally around his campaign as an alternative to Romney.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Politics/Elections; US: South Carolina
KEYWORDS: 2012; gingrich; poll; romney; southcarolina
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To: rbmillerjr

Maybe she will. We’ll see.


61 posted on 01/12/2012 1:19:53 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: GonzoGOP

“The important thing is for one of them to break out of the pack and get ahead of Romney.”

Absolutely. Go Rick, Rick or Gingrich!

imo, Romney’s poll numbers will rapidly decline even further in the next few days, because he still has somewhat of a TEMPORARY bump from the NH primary.


62 posted on 01/12/2012 1:39:52 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: expat1000

“The numbers look real. Santorum has taken 10 percentage points from Romney according to the Insider Advantage polls and a whopping > 20 points according to Rasmussen.”

Sweet!

And Rasmussen has a good track record.


63 posted on 01/12/2012 1:42:01 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: TBBT
Pour the coal to it Newt.

Lay into that effete priss.

Pro abort...pro gay...pro gun control Scott Brown wannabe
Send him and the beltway GOP and Rush and Hannity and other traitorous talkies to the same pit of irrelevance they so richly merit

I loathe finally seeing what these bastards really are

And Perry and Rick....put your egos to bed and drop out

If you don't then we get the moderate fop again

64 posted on 01/12/2012 1:49:20 PM PST by wardaddy (I fear we cannot beat Roger Ailes and beltway GOP)
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To: rbmillerjr

Palin?

Whats left to be said really?

Her detractors have been proven more canny than her supporters


65 posted on 01/12/2012 2:07:26 PM PST by wardaddy (I fear we cannot beat Roger Ailes and beltway GOP)
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To: TBBT
I don't understand why so many are glued to the SC polls at this time. Let's see--did the polls 9 days before the IA caucuses predict that Santorum would tie for first? Nope--not even CLOSE.

So why would anyone think that the SC polls at this point would give a true picture of the eventual results there? Doesn't anyone ever learn? I mean, who on earth believes the weather forecast 9 days out??? ;)

Fool me once, shame on the polls; fool me twice, shame on me. :)

66 posted on 01/12/2012 2:54:58 PM PST by rissole
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To: rissole
I don't understand why so many are glued to the SC polls at this time.

Some are glued to the polls because of how accurate the polls were for several of the candidates in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

However, South Carolina is an open primary with fewer Romney-loving Republicans. I think Gingrich, Santorum, and Perry will be lucky to come close to their polling numbers. Unlike NH, which is full of Romney-loving Republicans, SC doesn't have nearly as many, but because it's open, plenty of Democrats and Libertarians are going to cross over and vote for Willard and RuPaul
67 posted on 01/12/2012 4:31:51 PM PST by af_vet_rr
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To: TBBT

Not a big fan of Gingrich here, but at the very least, do I ever love seeing the panic on the faces of Karl Rove, Laura Ingraham and other Romney-Establishment water carriers over this. Romney, in addition to Huntsman, would be the worst possible choices of the GOP for this year; therfore, the sooner those two are vanquished, the better for all of us (relatively speaking...things will still not be perfect but it will be an improvement and moving back in the right direction). Having said that, some of the “Occupy”-tinged comments for political advantage seem to be perhaps a little over the top and could come back to bite us (from the Democrat Socialists).


68 posted on 01/12/2012 5:08:10 PM PST by AmericanInTokyo (Will FREE REPUBLIC in 2012, morph slowly before our very own eyes, from CONSERVATIVE to R.I.N.O.????)
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To: Sun
You know I will say one thing.

Anyone knows for DAMN SURE if Herman Cain were still in the race and had won New Hampshire, the media would be calling it a "temporary bump", or a "boomlet" or what have you. They would not bandwagon him all the live long day and try to force and generate phony "momentum" such as is the case with the US Liberal MSM (which in the long run overwhelmingly wants to reelect Obama) vis a vis Romney, but because it was ROMNEY who won New Hampshire (and he probably even did not win Iowa), blood-sucking MSM are intent in generating a completely opposite victory narrative to that which would be incessantly broadcast and printed for Cain (or Santorum for that matter) were he to win New Hampshire. I can see right through these chucks, they cannot mask it. There is also this unholy alliance between the elite, rarified atmospheric level power players of the GOP establishment, and the liberal Democrat MSM, in support of Romney. Just like McCain 2008. Inflate McCain. Paint him as a conservative in South Carolina to get over the big hump. Depress guys like Duncan Hunter and others on purpose.

69 posted on 01/12/2012 5:22:12 PM PST by AmericanInTokyo (Will FREE REPUBLIC in 2012, morph slowly before our very own eyes, from CONSERVATIVE to R.I.N.O.????)
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To: TBBT

Newt is the best true conservative reformer in the GOP to effect positive change in DC - not simply vocal rhetoric. More jobs, stronger economy, less trade deficit, stronger budget, more bi-partisanship, true protection of our borders - Vote Newt. He is also simply a good person, honest, and willing to admit his past mistakes and learn from them. He is genuine and honest - and he is a fighter with a strong heart for steering America back on track. Let’s go Newt!


70 posted on 01/12/2012 7:20:17 PM PST by VoteForChangeInDC
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To: AmericanInTokyo

I feel your passion, especially since I have it as well.

Just want to add that winning the open-primary State of NH is not a surprise, as so many NH voters are liberals, Dems and LIBertarians, which is why Romney and Paul were the front runners.


71 posted on 01/13/2012 1:36:44 AM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Sun
Agreed.

However, having said that, I would say that some other candidates should resist the temptation to play to the audience and demogogue and do this:

Heavens, one Socialist major party in America is enough!!

72 posted on 01/13/2012 1:40:11 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo (Romneybots will appear left & right on FR in the next few weeks/months. Jim/Mods, PLEASE zap 'em!)
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To: AmericanInTokyo

Conservatives can be proud that they have the Tea Party on their side!

Look who the libs have. Ugh


73 posted on 01/13/2012 2:12:27 AM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: AmericanInTokyo

Conservatives can be proud that they have the Tea Party on their side!

Look who the libs have. Ugh


74 posted on 01/13/2012 2:19:28 AM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: AmericanInTokyo; Sun; dixiechick2000; ntnychik; onyx

Romney takes the McCain line, does not condemn Hussein as the enemy of America we spotlighted four years ago.

And though Newt and Rick Perry have attacked Romney, it's not been for the essential evil of the man.

Romney has no core values. He can murder babies, and ban guns, and smile at homosexual "marriage"--

He's absolutely LBJ's schoolteacher-applicant who can teach the world is flat or round--whatever gets him the job.

I will be quite happy with Newt or Rick Perry or Rick Santorum against Hussein--

We're not unseating someone who's "in over his head"--

We're exorcising a crypto islamo commie closet queen Kenyan who despises freedom--

An Alinskyite--and Alinsky dedicated Reveille to Lucifer.

The shrieking fairies and carping harpies will be drowning their sorrows in a Niagara of vodka on Election Day.

When 2010 rolls back on the beach it will be 200 feet high pushing livestock, Blabbermouth & Meagan before it.


75 posted on 01/13/2012 3:01:14 AM PST by PhilDragoo (Hussein: Islamo-Commie from Kenya)
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To: Norseman

Gingrich is very very clever, the others just look good in suits.


76 posted on 01/13/2012 7:59:45 AM PST by plenipotentiary (Obama was a BRITISH SUBJECT at birth, passed to him via Pops, can't be NBC)
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To: PhilDragoo

Rick, Rick and Newt are the only conservatives in the race.

But my favorite is Santorum. :)


77 posted on 01/13/2012 8:41:12 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: PhilDragoo

I love your post! But, I mostly love this...

“Romney has no core values.”

That is it, in a nutshell.


78 posted on 01/13/2012 11:46:23 PM PST by dixiechick2000 (Proud barbarian TEA Party SOB and an evil Capitalist.)
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