Newt Gingrich seems to be sitting pretty after a decisive victory over Mitt Romney in the South Carolina Republican Primary that took place last Saturday night. Gingrich overcame a double-digit deficit in the polls to surge past Romney and claim South Carolina’s delegates, finishing with 41% of the vote.
Romney finished second with 26% of votes. CNN reported that Rick Santorum finished third with 18%, and Ron Paul pulled in 13% of the votes.
A decisive performance by Gingrich among South Carolina voters dispelled doubts about his ability to connect with voters on a broad scale. FOX News analyst Juan Williams said of Gingrich, “South Carolina voters want fire and brimstone…What fired up the crowd was red meat answers that stoked the idea that this guy is a power puncher who can beat Barack Obama.”
The victory for Gingrich also allayed popular concerns that the candidate had difficulty connecting with female voters due to his three marriages and the accusations of infidelity from an ex-wife.
CNN exit polls confirmed that 51% of South Carolina voters felt that Gingrich had the best chance of defeating Obama, whereas only 36% felt the same about Romney. This statistic undermines the key point of the Romney campaign that he is the only candidate who could beat Obama in 2012. The same exit polls also revealed that Gingrich performed better with more conservative voters while Romney carried moderate conservatives.
“Conservatives are rejecting the consensus that Mitt Romney is the chosen nominee of the Republican Party,” said a CNN field analyst.
Speaking from Columbia, Mitt Romney began with smiles and jokes while thanking South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for her support. “This race is getting to be even more interesting,” said Romney, who went on to congratulate Gingrich on his victory.
Romney attempted to dismiss fears about his more centrist conservative policies by reaffirming his right-wing policies to his followers.
“I want to make the federal government simpler, smaller, and smarter,” said Romney of his plan for the White House.
Ron Paul also affirmed his insistence on continuing his presidential campaign. “This is the beginning of a long, hard slog,” said Paul. “We will continue to do this, there is no doubt about it.”
Santorum thanked his wife and children during his speech. He utilized his seven children in South Carolina to expand his social media presence and reach out to younger conservatives.
Santorum and Paul both remain marginally behind Gingrich and Romney in the race for the nomination, but each candidate seemed reinforced by their surprisingly strong performances in South Carolina. Although Santorum actually finished ahead of Romney in Iowa, his chances look slim as the candidates look towards the Florida Primary taking place on January 31st.
Both the Romney and Gingrich campaigns emphasized the importance of the Florida Primary in determining the Republican nominee. Florida is a much more politically and ethnically diverse state than South Carolina. Analysts have reported that Gingrich did very well with both social conservatives and evangelical Christians who saw him as the more conservative candidate. The latter group also felt distrustful of Romney’s religious faith as a Mormon, which a staggering number of South Carolinians consider a cult.
“Tomorrow we’re going to move on to Florida,” said Romney. “It is a state that has suffered under the terrible policies of President Obama.” The Romney campaign issued statements to several major news networks, indicating that they will take several serious lessons from his underwhelming performance in South Carolina. Gingrich found success by attacking Romney as part of the fiscal elite and as lacking true conservative ideals, which he used to separate himself and appeal to more socially conservative voters in the Southern state. The Romney campaign suggested that they will no longer be on the defensive against Gingrich’s constant negative attack ads and performances in the Republican debates. Furthermore, officials within Romney headquarters confirmed that his annual tax reports will be released to the general public, a point on which Gingrich has continually harped to voters.
Both CNN and MSNBC reported that Romney had also locked up an endorsement from former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who carries significant political weight in that state. If Gingrich can overcome the Bush endorsement and defeat Romney in Florida, Romney’s chances of securing the nomination will be diminished considerably. Conversely, if Romney carries the state, the battle for the Republican presidential nomination could continue all the way through Super Tuesday on March 6.
Romney still leads the race for delegates with 31 total after three contests. Gingrich stands in second place with 22, Paul holds 10, and Santorum holds eight.
Corey Bennett is a fourth year who's moving his hips like yeahhhh.
