Free Republic

CHARLESTON, S.C.-- Seven days ago, it looked like Mitt Romney was going to walk away from the South Carolina Republican presidential primary with a 3-0 record: The former Massachusetts governor had a twenty-point lead in Palmetto state polls, and had recently achieved what looked like a historic one-two punch in Iowa and New Hampshire. Tonight, following Romney's loss to Newt Gingrich in the third-in-the-nation primary, and in light of the news that Rick Santorum received 34 more votes than Romney in Iowa, the candidate's record is 1-2 instead -- and he's headed down to Florida without the sense of inevitability...

Romney aides tell Fox News they expect a second place finish based on exit polls.