Election briefs

Polls shows Gingrich leading in S.C.

Newt Gingrich led Mitt Romney 34-28 in Public Policy Polling’s S.C. survey Wednesday night, just days before Saturday’s S.C. Republican Primary.

Ron Paul at 15 percent, Rick Santorum at 14 percent, Rick Perry at 5 percent and Buddy Roemer at 3 percent round out the field. Perry quit the race Thursday.

Public Policy said it is not a case of Romney imploding. His support has been pretty much in the 28-30 percent range in the firm’s polling. But Gingrich has risen to 34 percent from 23 percent over the last two weeks, benefiting from declining support for Santorum and also from undecided voters moving into his camp.

Monday night’s debate helped Gingrich’s prospects. More than half of all likely S.C. GOP Primary voters say they watched the debate.

Public Policy said Gingrich is starting to consolidate his support with some of the state’s more conservative voters. He has a 50-18 advantage over Romney with Tea Party voters. He is up 39-23 with those describing themselves as “very conservative.” And he has a 37-20 advantage with evangelicals.

Rick Perry’s exit from the race shouldn’t make a huge difference, Public Policy said. His supporters were evenly divided on their second choice with 26 percent each picking Gingrich and Romney.

Meanwhile, a Rasmussen poll also said Gingrich is leading Romney by a 33-31 margin. Just before Monday’s debate, Romney held a 14-point lead in Rasmussen polling.

Perry quits race, endorses Gingrich

NORTH CHARLESTON Texas Gov. Rick Perry ended his GOP presidential campaign Thursday, just 13 miles from where he started it five months ago.

“I have come to the conclusion there is no viable path forward for me in this 2012 campaign,” Perry told reporters. “Therefore today, I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president of the United States.”

Perry does not have the support by himself to sway Saturday’s primary, but his endorsement could encourage other evangelical conservatives to vote for Gingrich in the name of stopping Romney.

That path will not be easy for Gingrich. He will have to answer accusations from his ex-wife about Gingrich’s adulterous past.

“Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?” Perry said. “The fact is, there is forgiveness for those who seek God, and I believe in the power of redemption for it is a central tenant of my Christian faith.”

Perry’s campaign also is a defeat for Katon Dawson, the former S.C. GOP chairman, who in his first test as a campaign strategist bolted Gingrich’s campaign over the summer to join Perry. At the time, Perry widely was thought to be the only candidate who could challenge Romney for the nomination.

“Sure it stings,” Dawson said. “Newt chose to run an unconventional campaign. That’s what he’s done, and he’s winning.”

Perry stumbled through a series of nationally televised debates and was never able to recover. He finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses earlier this month and skipped New Hampshire entirely.

Santorum questions Gingrich’s ‘core convictions’

MOUNT PLEASANT Rick Santorum trumpeted his newly certified win in Iowa here Thursday while criticizing new S.C. front-runner frontrunner Newt Gingrich as someone who “routinely puts (social) issues to the back of the bus.”

Speaking to a crowd of mostly reporters in the shadow of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, Santorum appeared with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, who did not endorse Santorum but said nice things about him. And Santorum said he hopes the support of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, who endorsed Santorum on Thursday, would convince S.C. evangelical voters to rally to his candidacy.

“One thing I will say to undecided value voters, look to core convictions,” Santorum said. “Look for someone who walks the walk, talks the talk and is not afraid to lead. If we look at the other two people in this race who are seriously contending for the values voters, you see two people who have not led ever on these issues.”

Low-key Romney lets surrogates attack ‘self-serving narcissism of Newt’

Mitt Romney operated his campaign Thursday on three levels: A personal touch, a return to a statesmanlike manner and having surrogates blast away at Newt Gingrich.

Romney’s only appearance before Thursday night’s debate came during a visit to his Charleston headquarters. Romney, as well as Gov. Nikki Haley, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio all called voters.

Romney’s surrogates, though, were on the warpath. In a conference call with reporters, U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who served in the House with Gingrich, discussed what he called the “erratic, self-serving narcissism of Newt.”

Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu called on Gingrich to release the complete findings of the House Ethics Committee investigation into his finances, and also talked about character as well as general election trouble should Gingrich be the nominee.

“There still is a very opaque piece of material out there on former Speaker Gingrich and that’s the record of what is in the ethics process that he had done and taken,” he said, a reference to the 1997 House Ethics Committee findings. “We ought to at least wring out the laundry now.”

The committee imposed a $300,000 penalty on Gingrich for lying to the committee about his finances, and the House overwhelmingly voted to reprimand Gingrich – the first time in the history of the House a speaker had been disciplined for ethical lapses.

Jenny Sanford: Newt ’wouldn’t get my vote’

Former S.C. first Llady Jenny Sanford is not a Newt Gingrich fan.

In an interview on MSNBC on Thursday, Sanford said some voters might be swayed by a TV interview with Gingrich’s second wife, where she accused the former House speaker of wanting an open marriage. Sanford divorced her husband, former S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, after he had an affair with a woman from Argentina while he was in office.

Sanford said voters need to consider Gingrich’s personal history, which includes three marriages with his last one ending after he was having an affair with his current wife, Callista.

“It does call into question his character on a personal side,” Sanford said. “As a voter, I encourage people to look at both sides, the personal side, and if you’re going to overcome somebody’s moral failings or infidelities, you also have to see where they fit ideologically, and how much their rhetoric meets their reality and in my mind, Gingrich falls short on both fronts. So he wouldn’t get my vote.”

She said a candidates personal history has an impact on the job they can do in office.

“It comes down to the simple question of character,” she said.

Sanford said she has not picked a candidate for Saturday’s GOP presidential primary though she said any of them could defeat President Barack Obama.

S.C. House speaker switches to Gingrich

S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell has swapped his support in the state’s GOP presidential primary from Texas Gov. Rick Perry to former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Harrell, R-Charleston, joins David Wilkins, former S.C. House speaker and U.S. ambassador to Canada, in switching from the Perry to Gingrich.

“His commitment to the conservative principles of lower taxes, smaller government and economic development are key to restoring America to greatness,” Harrell said of Gingrich in a statement. “Speaker Gingrich is the only candidate with proven leadership experience, which is what we need to effect real change in Washington.”

The (Columbia) State