New Polls Show Newt Gingrich Closing Gap With Romney In South Carolina
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A Gallup poll released Monday shows that Romney is still favored nationally among registered Republican voters. (Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons)
In a Politico survey released Thursday morning the gap was even narrower, with 37 percent of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters backing Romney and 30 percent supporting Gingrich. Texas Rep. Ron Paul was at 11 percent followed by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at 10 percent.
The final GOP presidential debate in South Carolina tonight presents challenges and opportunities for the GOP primary hopefuls. Romney, touted as the candidate most likely to become the Republican candidate for the 2012 election, has to maintain his lead while other candidates attempt to derail his presidential bid.
Last week the Gingrich camp released an ad comparing Romney to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and accusing the former Massachusetts’s governor of being too liberal.
The ad also took a shot at Romney for his fluency in French: "Just like John Kerry — he speaks French, too!"
Gingrich, meanwhile, is bracing for an interview featuring his ex-wife that Drudge Report said has "explosive revelations [that] are set to rock the trail."
The ABC interview is set to air Thursday evening. It features Gingrich's second wife, Marianne Gingrich, who in the 1990s told a reporter that she could end her husband's political career with just one interview.
"He came to her and said, 'I want to stay married to you and still have an affair with Callista,' his current wife," Brian Ross, ABC’s chief investigative correspondent, told WMAL, a D.C. radio station, on Thursday.
Gingrich’s daughters reacted to the new allegations on Wednesday.
"We will not say anything negative about our father’s ex-wife," Kathy Libbers and Jackie Cushman said in a statement to ABC. "He has said before, privately and publicly, that he regrets any pain he may have caused in the past to people he loves. ABC News or other campaigns may want to talk about the past, just days before an important primary election."
Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorsed Gingrich on Thursday also defended the former Speaker of the House.
"Newt is not perfect, but who among us is? The fact is there is forgiveness for those who seek God. And I believe in the power of redemption," Perry said at a press conference. "I have no question that Newt Gingrich has the heart of a conservative reformer, the ability to rally and captivate the conservative movement."
In a statement Gingrich said that he is said in a "humbled and honored" by Perry’s support.
A Gallup poll released Monday shows that Romney is still favored nationally among registered Republican voters. According to Gallup Romney, who has a 23-point lead, is “the probable favorite to win the Republican nomination.”
