Posted on 01/19/2012 1:13:47 PM PST by TBBT
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has gained popularity in South Carolina in recent days and is now in a dead heat with Mitt Romney in the Palmetto state, according to a new poll.
Gingrich leads in the latest American Research Group (ARG) poll, conducted January 17-18, with 33 percent. Romney finishes close behind with 32 percent, while Rep. Ron Paul is in third with 19 percent. Former Sen. Rick Santorum earned 9 percent support.
Romney heads into South Carolina's January 21 primary as the clear frontrunner after virtually tying for first place in the Iowa caucuses and finishing first in the New Hampshire primaries. He also has a clear lead among Republican primary voters nationwide, according to the latest CBS News/ New York Times poll.
However, Gingrich appears to be making inroads in South Carolina, and today he won the endorsement of Rick Perry when the Texas governor announced he was dropping his own presidential bid. Perry garnered 4 percent in the ARG poll, and if his support shifts to Gingrich, it could be enough to give him a solid lead.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
He needs to nail this debate tonight. I hope they have good answers to the guaranteed questions about his ex. I think if he can get the crowd stirred up like earlier this week, he’ll win Saturday.
“Santorum earned 9 percent support.”
It’s time for Santorum to drop out.
All the polls trending like this one, altho this one is a tad heavy for Paul and a tad light for Santorum. But clearly Newt made the case that he’s the conservative folks want to see run against Obama on Monday by how he handled the racial question and Santorum made the case that he’s a nice guy without the big time talent when he went all PC on MLK day.
“Romney heads into South Carolina’s January 21 primary as the clear frontrunner after virtually tying for first place in the Iowa caucuses”
Oh, but when he was 8 votes AHEAD, he didn’t virtually tie, he “won in a close contest”. Can these people be any more transparently hypocritical? Just wow...
“It’s time for Santorum to drop out.”
Yes, it the right thing to do!
He has the wind in his sails right now but he’s sailing into rocky waters. We need to get this Marianne Gingrich crap out of the news. I only know of two Republicans with the power to do that right now, John Boehner and Rick Santorum.
Let Santorum debate tonight first. As we have seen, he can be vicious and bloody Mitt without Newt having to do the dirty work.
WOOT!
GO NEWT!
the whole election may hinge on the debate tonight... wow
I wonder... Is Drudge getting paid by the hour for keeping the Ex-Wife story the main headline?
The other three:
Latest Polls Thursday, January 19
South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary PPP Romney 28, Gingrich 34, Paul 15, Santorum 14, Perry 5 Gingrich +6
South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary Insider Advantage Romney 29, Gingrich 32, Paul 15, Santorum 11, Perry 3 Gingrich +3
South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary Rasmussen Reports Romney 31, Gingrich 33, Paul 15, Santorum 11, Perry 2 Gingrich +2
Okay, I’ll wait until tomorrow before I make him step down. ;>)
RoPaul third? 19%? If Paul ever got the nomination, he would be an easy target for the opposition. There's plenty of negative stuff on Paul out there. The vetting of him by the media and Dems would be a dream come true.
When the polls close and teh votes counted there will be a number of people who will look around and say, “How did he win taht many votes?” The question si WHO will we be talking about? But the contest is a marathon not a sprint.
Pointing out the obvious here, but if these numbers hold, the GOP primary will be a brand new game. Romney’s “inevitability factor” will have been shattered, and the momentum towards a perceived easy win in Florida will be gone as well.
Dr. Paul continues his steady upward climb in the polls.
Dr. Paul is the one true conservative in the race without baggage !
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.