Newt Gingrich has won the South Carolina Republican primary, Fox News projects, further scrambling an already volatile presidential race which has produced three different winners in three states as the candidates head next to Florida.
Fox News projects that Mitt Romney will place second in the Palmetto State, where he was leading in the polls just one week ago. With 35 percent of precincts reporting, Gingrich has 41 percent and Romney has 26 percent.
Rick Santorum will finish in third place, Fox News projects, while Ron Paul will finish last.
Gingrich’s victory marks a remarkable comeback for the former House speaker, propelled by his strong performance in two debates in South Carolina this week.
But Romney, at his post-election rally in South Carolina, vowed to put up a stiff fight in what he predicted would be a “long primary season.”
“I’ll keep fighting for every single vote. I will compete in every single state,” Romney said.
The former Massachusetts governor, without calling out Gingrich by name, blasted him over his government-heavy resume and his past attacks on Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital.
“President Obama has no experience running a business and no experience running a state. Our party can’t be led to victory by someone who also has never run a business and never run a state,” Romney said. Likewise, Romney said the GOP can’t defeat Obama with a candidate who joined in on the “assault on free enterprise.”
“They’re attacking every person who dreams of a better future. He’s attacking you. I will support you,” Romney said, adding that anyone who demonizes success is not “fit” to be nominee.
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7 Responses
I still think romney will win and be the nominee.
well, if newt wins the nomination, Obama wins the election.
Gingrich’s past record is a lot longer and more spotty than Romney’s. On the other hand, he seems full of energy. He’s also very willing to admit he is human and makes mistakes for which he apologizes (well, he did get divorced twice for his notorious adultery). He evaded military service even though he’s an army brat. He was chased out of the second most important office in the country for incompetence and dubious morality. But he does claim to have matured, grown and repented of his evil ways.
Of course, if Obama messes up in the next 9 months, almost any Republican who can prove he’s an American citizen and over 35 years old could probably win (sentience being optional in that situation).
Well Newt will bring about smaller Govt and the economy back is that not want all you liberals want I do. He will be a great friend to Israel as well did he not mention the palis are made up which they are at least he was honest about it the rest of the sad sacks could not even tell the truth Obama has spent your childrens future away not to mention obama care 6 trillion added to the national debt under obama he has to go WAKE UP
Gingrich-Romney could win, especially if the manage to get the rest of the conservatives to support them. They could offer to have Romney as a “Chief operating officers” with Gingrich more like an “Executive Chairman/CEO”. None of the Republicans radically disagree on tax policy, only on ways to accomplish matters. They are all (except for Paul and his libertarian take on things) strongly PRO-LIFE and PRO-tradition marriage. Except for Paul, they are no disagreements on foreign policy (arguably, not even with the Democrats, though the tone is different). There are pieces of even Paul’s platform that the Republicans could embrace, and all the more so for the other candidate (more respect for property rights, more respect for individual rights, more respect for state rights).
So it isn’t hopeless. And unless Obama can deliver on peace and prosperity, the Republicans are far from doomed.
You people are funny — NOT!!
ANYONE on the Republican side can beat Obama with perhaps Ron Paul being the exception since he has a worse foreign policy than Obama, if that could be imagined.
This election is about ManChild’s record, which is horrific. Obama will win if he cheats – which is certainly not out of the realm of possibility since he is a lying conniving Chicago political crook.
Akuperma, Gingrich did not evade military service. Where did you get such an idea? By the time his student deferment was up he was a father, and therefore exempt. Had he been called up he would have gone, of course. (Unlike Clinton who planned to go to Canada.)
And he was not “chased out of the second most important office in the country for incompetence and dubious morality”. He resigned because he took responsibility for the Republican losses in the 1998 election. It was purely political; they lost seats when they had expected to gain, and they blamed him for not campaigning well enough. That’s all.
As for his divorces, it’s not so simple. His second wife left him for six years, and then expected that when she came back to him he would forget all that had happened in the meantime!