Romney leads S.C., 3 polls say

Mitt Romney showed signs of finally breaking through in South Carolina Friday as three polls showed him leading an otherwise fractured field of Republican presidential candidates.

Rick Santorum, whose upstart campaign finished second in Iowa by eight votes, jumped from 1 percent in S.C. polling two months ago to as high as 24 percent in a Rasmussen poll.

But his surge — based on shoe-leather politicking and a heavy dose of social-conservative messaging — wasn’t enough to break away from one-time frontrunner Newt Gingrich. The former U.S. House speaker tied Santorum for second place in an American Research Group poll and trailed Santorum by just 1 percentage point in a CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corp. poll.

“It looks like Romney’s the man now,” said Shaun Richburg, a Florence office manager who originally supported Texas Gov. Rick Perry. “I know he’s Mormon, but that doesn’t bother me. I just think he’s an honest person, and I know he’s a good businessman.”

But the polls also showed a restless electorate.

Forty-eight percent of respondents to the Rasmussen poll said they were likely to change their minds by the Jan. 21 primary. The CNN/Time/ORC poll found 55 percent were likely to switch their votes.

“This thing in South Carolina is far, far from over,” said Gresham Barrett, a former congressman who is Santorum’s S.C. chairman. “There is not going to be anybody in this race that will outwork him or out town-hall him or out-speech him. I can tell you one thing from experience, people in South Carolina appreciate that.”

Even with the lead — 27 percent, according to Rasmussen; 31 percent, according to American Research Group; 37 percent, according to CNN/Time/ORC — Romney’s campaign played down the results, sticking to its strategy of “the slog,” as described by S.C. consultant Warren Tompkins.

“We are under no illusions about the challenges facing us in the state — just four years ago, Mitt Romney finished fourth in the South Carolina primary,” Amanda Henneberg, a Romney spokeswoman, said in a statement. “But in the closing weeks, we will continue to reach out to voters and make the case that Mitt Romney is the best candidate to beat Barack Obama, and that he is the best choice to grow the economy, cut spending and create jobs.”

New Hampshire Republicans vote Tuesday.

But with former Massachusetts Gov. Romney holding a commanding 23-point lead over the second-ranking candidate there, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, the GOP rivals — including Romney himself — already are turning their attention to South Carolina.

Romney appeared in Conway Friday with Gov. Nikki Haley and 2008 Republican presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Sunday, Santorum and Texas Gov. Perry, who is depending on South Carolina to resurrect his campaign, will fly back from a New Hampshire debate to hold events in Greenville and Spartanburg, respectively.

Friday’s polls were the first surveys of likely S.C. GOP primary voters since Haley announced her endorsement of Romney. At the time, many questioned how much Haley’s endorsement would help Romney in South Carolina, given her own low approval ratings — below even Democratic President Barack Obama in the Palmetto State.

The Romney campaign was concerned enough to do its own poll Wednesday and Thursday that included questions about Haley.

The poll of likely GOP primary voters found Haley had a 70 percent favorability rating and a 66 percent approval rating, according to a Romney campaign source who requested anonymity. The poll was conducted by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and surveyed 500 likely S.C. Republican primary voters, according to the source.

While Romney enjoys his lead, Santorum continues his remarkable surge.

But Romney supporters say the rise of the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania mimics the rise, and fall, of several other GOP candidates, including Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain, no longer in the race.

“He’s the latest in a long line of people who have popped out of (the field). They go head to head with the governor, and then they go back into the field,” said S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis, who has endorsed Romney.

Santorum’s staying power will be tested by his ability to withstand the inevitable onslaught of negative ads, said Scott Huffmon, a Winthrop University political science professor and pollster.

“He is about to get hammered,” Huffmon said. “Will he be able to stand it?”