Jan
Gingrich Surge
As predicted here last Wednesday morning, I felt Speaker Gingrich would make a surge and would at least be within the margin of error of Gov. Romney going into Saturday’s South Carolina primary. Little did I know that he would absolutely run away with the contest. He had a 20 point turnaround in even the most conservative polls, which showed him down 7 points entering the week. With a 12-13 point victory, Gingrich once again surprised everyone. Speaker Gingrich has been left for dead TWICE in this contest, and both times he has bounced back with a vengeance. What is even more surprising was the way he won in the Palmetto State. He pretty much captured every county (all but two or three) and every demographic. I think he is here to stay this time around. It will be interesting to see the dynamic between he and Rick Santorum going forward. Unlike Gingrich and Romney, who seem to dislike each other, I think Santorum and the former Speaker have a great amount of respect for each other. However, at some point one of them will have to pull out of this race and allow the other challenge Romney directly (with Ron Paul garnering his 10-15%). The voters in South Carolina seemed to indicate their preference, but we will see what happens in Florida. At that time, one of them (probably Santorum) will have to make a decision about his future in this race.
Is Speaker Gingrich’s surge purely emotional? Will it die in Florida? We will see in the next week, but I think here is here to stay.
