Jan
Gingrich Gaining Ground Fast in South Carolina
After a stellar debate performance Monday evening, Newt Gingrich is gaining ground fast in South Carolina. An NBC poll shows very quick changes in a clearly undecided electorate.
On Monday before the debate, Romney led Gingrich in the poll by 15 points, 37 percent to 22 percent. But on Tuesday, that advantage narrowed to just five points, 31 percent to 26 percent.
And the breakdown of the various groups is also interesting:
On Monday, Gingrich held a five-point lead over Romney among those describing themselves as “very conservative,” 32 percent to 27 percent, with Santorum getting 24 percent.
But the next day, Gingrich’s percentage with this group jumped up to 35 percent, Santorum’s declined to 20 percent and Romney’s sunk to 19 percent.
Among Tea Party supporters on Monday, Romney edged Gingrich, 35 percent to 27 percent. But on Tuesday, the numbers flipped – with Gingrich at 34 percent and Romney at 27 percent.
And a similar change occurred among likely South Carolina primary voters who are evangelical Christians. On Monday, Romney led Gingrich here, 36 percent to 22 percent, with Santorum at 18 percent. On Tuesday, it was Gingrich at 27 percent, Romney at 22 percent, and Santorum at 19 percent.
One thing is for certain throughout this campaign. The more Mitt Romney has to defend is record and his positions, the more support swells for an anti-Romney candidate. However, the voters have not been able to rally around one of these guys up to this point. Speaker Gingrich needs a very strong performance this weekend to try to capture that vote and minimize Rick Santorum and Rick Perry for the long run. Clearly after Monday’s debate he is doing just that in South Carolina.
