Dear Commons Community,
All of the media outlets are reporting that Newt Gingrich, scored a stunning victory over Mitt Romney in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary today. As soon as the polls closed at 7 p.m., the major TV networks called the race for Gingrich. With about 76% of the precincts of the precincts reporting, Newt Gingrich had 40% of the vote to Romney’s 26%. Rick Santorum had 17% and Ron Paul 13%.
The Huffington Post in an article commented that:
“Gingrich’s win in South Carolina capped off a remarkable week in politics that saw the former House Speaker from Georgia decimate Romney’s 10-point lead in the state in just five days”
However, not all Republicans are enthralled with Gingrich’s showing.
“He is a ticking time bomb,” said Henry Barbour, a top Republican party fundraiser from Mississippi who moved his support to Romney from Texas Gov. Rick Perry after Perry dropped out on Thursday. “He won’t last. He’s great for a cable news show, but when does he blow up?” Barbour told HuffPost.
“Romney has the plan, infrastructure and resources to win a quick or protracted campaign. Gingrich and Santorum will have a very hard time managing this as the pace quickens beyond their ability to execute in all the places they need to campaign. It’s a brutal process.”
Brutal indeed!
Tony
As a follow-up to this posting, the New York Times did an analysis of exit poll data and determined that:
“The contest was fluid until the bitter end — more than half chose their candidate within the last few days, according to a survey of voters.
Mr. Gingrich was supported by men and women alike, evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics, those who support the Tea Party and those who are neutral about it.
Mitt Romney, who until earlier last week was considered the front-runner in South Carolina, did best among moderates, the very affluent and those who oppose the Tea Party.” For more on this article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/us/politics/exit-poll-tells-story-behind-gingrich-win.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2
Tony