Election 2012: South Carolina Republican Primary(Romney 27%, Santorum 24%)

Rasmussen Reports ^ | 01/06/2012 | Staff

[Rational Thought]

What a difference a caucus makes. Rick Santorum who two months ago had one percent (1%) support among likely South Carolina Republican Primary voters now is running a close second there with 24% of the vote.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Palmetto State finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney still in the lead, earning 27% support from likely GOP Primary Voters, up from 23% in early November. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in third with 18% of the vote, followed by Texas Congressman Ron Paul at 11%.

Bringing up the rear are Texas Governor Rick Perry with five percent (5%) and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman at two percent (2%). Another two percent (2%) of these likely primary voters like some other candidate, and 11% remain undecided

[TexasFreeper2009]

You seem happy as a clam about Romney winning.

[mwl8787]

Haley has endorsed Romney but DeMint as yet has not endorsed, and I don’t believe he’ll do so until after NH.

[tennmountainman]

Awe....................

First it was “wait till Newt gets to SC”

Then it was “Santorum is splitting the vote”
(Nevermind the Fact that Perry is going nowhere)

And Now, it’s “I want Romney to win”

GO RICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JSDude1]

https://www.ricksantorum.com/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1

[VanDeKoik]

“good grief, we are never going to get rid of Santorum now, I am afraid Romney may have this now because of Santorum :(”

Idiot bandwagon types.

They would have voted for Paul if he was in the same position.

I seriously hope SC isnt populated by a bunch of people that just follows Iowas stupidity.

[JSDude1]

https://www.ricksantorum.com/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1

[RockinRight]

McCain did it, so can Romney.

[NKP_Vet]

Apparently Faux News stooge Scott Rasmussen uses the same people (if he calls anybody at all) to say Romney is winning this state or that state.

It is an absolute joke to even suggest that liberal Morman
Romney and Santorum are leading Newt Gingrich in SC.

I live in SC. Pigs will fly before liberal Morman Romney
wins the SC primary. Newt Gingrich will win, then follow up with a win in Florida.

Scott Rasmussen is on the Faux News payroll. He will never
report any poll numbers that show Romney losing. This
“lead” for Rommey in SC will be all that Faux News talks about today.

You believe in the tooth fairy is you believe this poll.
I almost chocked on my coffee when I read the headlines.

[BarnacleCenturion]

“Will the new flavor of the month have the wherewithal to pose a serious challenges to the Mitt Machine?”

There are no more flavors of the month. Santorum is it.

You can expect Newt and Perry to drop out after their single digit finish in SC. After NH they will sink even further.

Santorum will be the last man standing.

[TMA62]

This is GREAT news for Santorum. He has a lot of MO now. His 24% in this poll may be higher now. I think there is a lot of Bachmann, Perry and Cain supporters on his side now. And I think it is growing every day.

[Proudcongal]

Maybe after NH Perry will drop out. Being from the south, maybe his numbers will go to Newt. Newt should begin to climb back up anyway once the debates begin.

[throwback]

I find that surprising too. Perry's biggest negative is that he choked in the debates. That probably sticks in everybody’s mind. A politician that chokes in a debate is like a platoon leader that folds in an attack. I think he's made other mistakes that show he has a tin ear for hearing how his own statements sound. In his Iowa concession speech he read a letter someone sent to him saying that Rick was a great man. He may be a great man, but you don't read that out loud about yourself. Lack of humility turns people off. When the subject of adultery came up in the debates in regard to Newt, Perry wasn't very forgiving. Santorum, on the other hand, took the right line on it.

[TBBT]

If I were a Newt supporter, I’d want to know why he is holding on to that war chest. He’s not doing anything with money.

Well that is certainly true for Newt's Super PAC. Nothing. Only an old McCain ad posted on the web. I've read that Winning the Future is still trying to raise the money to go on the air. Too little too late.

It's also partially true for Newt. Only one add, with buys in N.H. and S.C.. Newt's got a tougher row to hoe. The media spin and news headlines will not be favorable. Perception and momentum are key. Political herds will drift toward who the perceive winner is going to be. None of this is good news for Newt.

Santorum is lucky with his timing. He's riding the bounce out of Iowa, and there isn't enough time for the media and his competitors to do their dirty work. Santorum really doesn't need an ad campaign at the moment. Riding the wave, free media, and glowing headlines, are doing the work for him. Sooner or later that is going to change.

[Rational Thought]

There's little doubt that Perry's continued debate performances were strong contributors to his decline. Added to that, his defense of his in State reduced tuition's for illegal immigrants plays very poorly among many Republican voters (as, IMO, it should).

When you add those factors to his overall campaign, I think the issue many have with Perry is the same as with Romney or Gingrich, the trust factor. Most voters don't believe the candidates who are calling themselves “Conservative”.

For now (and maybe for good), Santorum is the most believable.

I've maintained all along that Perry's plunge isn't due to the media or some huge mistake by his campaign (or it's supporters). Perry did this to himself, with his weak defense of previous policy positions and his ongoing misstatements. What I don't know is if he really is this bad a campaigner or he just never truly put in the effort. Looking back at his campaigns in Texas, I don't think he needed to be a great campaigner in order to be victorious. As we all know, things are quite different in a Presidential campaign.

[VanDeKoik]

“You can expect Newt and Perry to drop out after their single digit finish in SC. After NH they will sink even further.

Santorum will be the last man standing.”

And he will lose because he has no fight. He’s never really confronted Romney (or anyone) and isnt even running against Obama.

All I’m hearing is that he doesn’t support abortion and he goes to church as his #1 and #2 selling points.

One hit from Romney and the Democrats, and it’s deer in the headlights.

[TexasFreeper2009]

when Gingrich was peaking, he was beating Romney by 23 in South Carolina.

Santorum is peaking now... and is losing to Romney by 3 in South Carolina, and your happy why?

If Santorum doesn’t implode soon Romney will win, it’s that simple.

[NKP_Vet]

DeMint has endorsed no one yet. He did endorse
Romney over McCain in 2008. If he endorses him
this time around he’ll be considered a joke exactly
the way the moron Nikki Haley is considered a joke of
a governor and is despised by her own party in SC.

[CPT Clay]

Methinks Perry should have had this Poll for his...

Reassessment

[BarnacleCenturion]

“And he will lose because he has no fight.”

Well, blame Iowa.

Nobody can say that Michele Bachmann has no fight but now she’s gone.

Good luck.

[CPT Clay]

Santorum, Newt and Perry are all to the right of Romney.

If just one of them got all the votes, Romney would be history - and THAT is what we want.

Guess what/

South Carolina Primary is going to sort this out.