Newt Gingrich is again the favorite to win the South Carolina Republican Primary

(Source -- Yahoo article)

It's no real surprise, but Gingrich's lambasting John King about harrassing him won a lot of sympathy after last night's debate and his playing to the crowd by mentioning specific cities and specific industries showed that his team has really done its homework. Romney was never that popular in the state, and last night did him no favors. Paul and Santorum are hanging on to their voteers, but even with Gingrich's sudden rise, they haven't been able to take away voters from Gingrich or Romney at this point, with both of them showing just around 15% of the vote going to them.

The RealClearPolitics site shows the very latest numbers, just ahead of the vote: (right here)

So the question is whether the Evyl Newt will upset Romney's applecart or whether Romney can recover his momentum. He's no longer looking like the Great Republican Hope.

reply to post by Indellkoffer


Not 5 minutes ago I was walking by a TV set with FOX News on, and they were reporting that Romney has a 10 point lead in S. Carolina, and playing clips of Romney talking about the lead.

In the immortal words of George Bush...

'Fool me once shame on me. Fool me twice... I won't get fooled again'.

Conservatives. Yea right. And I'm the Pope.

Since everyone is being told to look at Romney's money and he's not showing... he's going to lose a lot of support for that.

Newt's scolding of John King was a candidate-maker, for sure! I loved it! I know Newt is a womanizing hypocrite. We don't need to go over it as such in a presidential debate. I loved it Newt's response. Bill Clinton could take a lesson here.

Santorum and Paul are too radical for the main GOP base and they're the ones who are going to choose. Between Mitt and Newt... OMFG! Talk about the lesser of two evils! It's hard to pick!

I was not impressed with the grandstanding Newt did about how indignant he was for being questioned about something that was buzzing around the news. If the voters were impressed with that they are gullible as hell. Poor liddle Saint Newt.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Newt isn't on the ballot in all 50 states, and therefore he is no competition for Romney. Only Paul and Romney are eligible for every delegate in the nation. The only way Newt and Santorum stand a decent chance is if Romney and Paul drop out, and that isn't very likely.

Plus, we all love this Newt. He is forceful, entertaining, and seems to be full of common sense and good ideas! Too bad this isn't the Newt that has been entrenched in GOP politics for 3 decades! How can we trust a guy that is saying everything perfectly for this year's campaign, but said everything different in the past when it was more popular? He is just riding the tide, he won't follow through on any of this once he gets into office.

reply to post by getreadyalready


Exactly. It's not like I'm voting for Newt or anything. I am well aware of his hypocritical past or how ineffective he'd be...

Did you see this thread? The field of GOP contenders this election are the weakest ever. Paul is definitely the strongest, in MY view, but most don't share my view.

In the end, the base will grit their teeth and vote for Romney or Gingrich.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


All Bill Clinton's womanizing didn't slow him down. Newt lead the charge on Bill's Lewinsiky's escapade while he was having an affair with his current wife. Now the shoe is on the other foot and shows what a hypocrite he is. I really tired of elected officials that I have to look down to.

reply to post by sad_eyed_lady


Yes, I know. I was there. I remember Newt. I'm not defending the guy. I think he's a creep, BUT, I'm not going to get down on him for loving 2 people and wanting to have both and asking for it. I think it's personal and doesn't have ANYTHING to do with the presidency. And it happened years ago. It's not relevant, EXCEPT that it shows what a hypocrite he is.

And I already knew that, too.

Yes...Newt will probably win SC...and then we have three winners in the first three states....AWESOME.

Republicans....thanks for screwing yourselves over...I'm sure Obama sends his thanks. Waste your money, tear each other apart, have a brokered convention, maybe decide the nominee with a cage match or a duel???

I'm happy...this primary has been too much fun for it to be over so soon...thanks Newt.

reply to post by getreadyalready


From what I know, Gingrich is only off the Virginia ballot. That is 50 delegates...Ron Paul is pretty much forfeiting 50 delegates in FL...so I don't think it really matters.

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
reply to post by getreadyalready

 

From what I know, Gingrich is only off the Virginia ballot. That is 50 delegates...Ron Paul is pretty much forfeiting 50 delegates in FL...so I don't think it really matters.

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who came within a few votes of winning the Iowa caucuses, didn't get on the ballot in Virginia or the District of Columbia. His campaign also filed incomplete slates of delegates in Illinois and Ohio, which could limit his ability to win delegates in those key states.

Gingrich, the former House speaker, didn't make it on the ballot for primaries in Missouri or Virginia, though he has joined the lawsuit to get on the Virginia ballot and Missouri won't award any delegates based on its Feb. 7 primary. Instead, Missouri Republicans will hold caucuses March 17.

1 Source

Although I read another source where Gingrich also failed to qualify for the complete set of delegatis in Illinois and Ohio.

I've posted it somewhere on ATS, and I know its on my FB page, but I can't access that from here.

Even if Gingrich wins S.C, Romney is projected to win big in Florida. Things can change, don't get me wrong, but considering the changing demographics in Florida and it's contrast to stubborn red South Carolina, I don't think Newt will get it easy there compared to S.C. Noth to mention, Nevada, Maine and Colorado are the next states to follow, and those are moderate states. Newt may be getting the positive attention and support he seeks now, but it may very well turn out to be a different ball game come Florida.

They are not too bright down there in South Carolina. Ever been there? WHOA!

Whoever they pick, is surely the one to stay far away from. Deep south is quite backwards so its only likely that they will support the most backwards candidate. No surprise here, I predicted this to myself before it was known.

Backwards folks, = picking most backwards candidate. *SIGH*.

Originally posted by jtma508
In the immortal words of George Bush...

'Fool me once shame on me. Fool me twice... I won't get fooled again'.

Conservatives. Yea right. And I'm the Pope.

'Fool me once. shame on you. Fool me but you can't fool me again."

reply to post by Southern Guardian


I'll be really, really surprised if Romney wins Florida. I'm in Florida and I haven't heard a single person who likes him. Herman Cain was the first anti-Romney, and he won Florida's straw poll. The Tea Party had a total domination of the 2010 elections, and Romney doesn't fit the Tea Party mold very well. Maybe Governor Scott will endorse Romney, that should seal his fate for a loss.

I believe Paul will do much better than expected, and Gingrich will probably do very well here.

Originally posted by HangTheTraitors
They are not too bright down there in South Carolina. Ever been there? WHOA!

Whoever they pick, is surely the one to stay far away from. Deep south is quite backwards so its only likely that they will support the most backwards candidate. No surprise here, I predicted this to myself before it was known.

Backwards folks, = picking most backwards candidate. *SIGH*.

edit on 20-1-2012 by HangTheTraitors because: (no reason given)

I wouldn't say all of the south lol....but The fact that anyone voting for Newt Gingrich shows how unintellegent they are. Newt is only in it to steal Ron Paul votes.... period.

RealClearPolitics polls have changed since this morning, and it's now showing Newt with a 2 point lead over Gingrich. According to Gallup, Mitt Romney's lead nationally is down to 30%, with Newt at 20% and nipping at his heels. That's quite a dramatic loss -- Romney led Gingrich by 23 points at the beginning of the week.

Playing coy with his taxes isn't helping, either. I had to wonder if Gingrich and his strategists expected the question, because the way he popped up with "posted them this afternoon for the world to see" was a very effective move. Romney's waffling cost him a lot of points, and Paul's statements about why he wasn't showing them didn't make sense.

It would be interesting if Newt won SC.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
I believe Paul will do much better than expected, and Gingrich will probably do very well here.

If Paul comes second there it will once again bring some good attention to his campaign, but delegate wise nothing will really change. Florida is winner takes all, and Paul has to prove that he can win that State if he wishes to make any statement about his viability for the nomination. I'm suprised that you say Gingrich will do well.... I mean I always felt that Gingrich appealed to the more rightwing tea party wing.. is florida really that conservative? Because it always seems to be a toss up state come the general elections. What part of Florida are you from? It may regional as I'm sure areas such as jacksonville, orlando, the panhandle, they tend to be more closely aligned the the deep solid red south.

Originally posted by HangTheTraitors
They are not too bright down there in South Carolina. Ever been there? WHOA!

Whoever they pick, is surely the one to stay far away from. Deep south is quite backwards so its only likely that they will support the most backwards candidate. No surprise here, I predicted this to myself before it was known.

Backwards folks, = picking most backwards candidate. *SIGH*.

edit on 20-1-2012 by HangTheTraitors because: (no reason given)

I have followed ATS for a long time as a reader but haven't felt the need to give my input until I read this. This really struck a nerve with me. I am a native of SC, am proud to be from and love to live in the south. Myself and nearly all of my family, friends, co-workers and associates are very passionate about Ron Paul and what he stands for and are trying hard to spread the word to inform everyone what all these media outlets don't want people to see, not just in SC, but in every state in this country....that RP is the best candidate for presidency that has come around in a long, long....long time. But hey...maybe we are all just backwards, unintelligent hillbillies as the old stereo type suggests