South Carolina primary races to dramatic close
By Associated Press
Jan 21, 2012 12:18 PM CST
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks during a campaign stop at Tommy's Country Ham House, where former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also scheduled an appearance on South Carolina's Republican primary election day in Greenville, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012....   (Associated Press)

Republicans Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich campaigned for every last vote Saturday in South Carolina before polls closed in a closely contested high-stakes primary battle that could shape the race to choose a Republican challenger to President Barack Obama.

Romney is fighting a suddenly surging Gingrich, while rivals Rick Santorum and Ron Paul look to surprise in a four-man race that has spun wildly in its last 48 hours.

The first contest without Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who dropped out this past week and endorsed Gingrich, was seen as Romney's to lose just days ago. Instead, the gap closed quickly between the former Massachusetts governor who portrays himself as the Republican best positioned to defeat Obama and Gingrich, the confrontational former speaker of the House of Representatives and ex-congressman from the neighboring state of Georgia.

Romney, Gingrich and Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, campaigned Saturday in South Carolina's conservative upstate as the voting got under way. Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman who has campaigned lightly here, had no campaign appearances scheduled but was expected to visit campaign volunteers.

The stakes were high for Saturday's vote. The South Carolina primary winner has gone on to win the Republican nomination in every election since 1980 when Ronald Reagan was the victor. South Carolina voters were faced with stamping Romney, who has led in national polls since December, as the party's front-runner, or reshuffle the contest yet again.

A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into next primary in Florida on Jan. 31. Romney had a big victory in the New Hampshire primary and a near-tie in the first nominating contest, the Iowa caucuses.

But if Romney stumbles in South Carolina, it could portend a battle for the nomination stretching over months that would further expose rifts inside a party between those who want a candidate who can defeat Obama more than anything else, and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.

Romney's agreement to participates in Florida debates Monday in Tampa and Thursday in Jacksonville was seen as an acknowledgement of a prolonged battle with Gingrich.

"This could be real close," said Romney as he chatted on the phone with a South Carolina voter Saturday morning and urged the man to go vote.

Whatever the outcome, Romney still has significant advantages over his three remaining Republican rivals, including an enormous financial edge and a well-organized campaign.

Romney has struggled in recent days with questions about his personal wealth and taxes, while Gingrich has been surging in polls after a pair of strong debate performances that appealed to the Republican base.

Gingrich is trying to establish himself as the conservative alternative to Romney, whom some Republicans see as too moderate because of his past support for abortion and gay rights as well as his implementation of a health care reform plan as governor in Massachusetts that bears some similarities to Obama's overhaul that Republicans loathe.

Gingrich had a message to South Carolina voters as he stopped by The Grapevine restaurant in Boiling Springs not long after the polls opened Saturday morning. He told diners who were enjoying plates of eggs and grits that he's the "the only practical conservative vote" if Republicans want to stop Romney, whom he described as a Massachusetts moderate.

Romney has benefited as Gingrich, Santorum and Perry divided the conservative vote in earlier contests. But the contest narrowed Thursday, with Perry dropping out and throwing his support to Gingrich.

Even as Romney was touting his electability in the November presidential contest, he continued to try to stoke doubt about Gingrich's ethics.

On Saturday, Romney stood outside his Greenville, South Carolina, headquarters and undertook a new attack on Gingrich. He called on Gingrich to further explain his contracts with Freddie Mac, the housing mortgage giant, and release any advice he had provided to the company. Gingrich has said the contracts earned two of his companies more than $1.6 million over eight years, but that he only pocketed about $35,000 a year himself.

`I'd like to see what he actually told Freddie Mac. Don't you think we ought to see it?" Romney said.

It was another response to pressure on Romney, a multimillionaire former head of a private equity firm, to release his federal income tax returns in advance so Republicans can know before they choose a nominee if they contain anything that could compromise the party's chances against Obama in November.

Campaigning on Friday, Romney demanded that Gingrich release hundreds of supporting documents relating to an ethics committee investigation into his activities while he was speaker of the House in the mid-1990s.

Gingrich's campaign brushed off Romney's demand, calling it a "panic attack" brought on by sinking poll numbers.

In January 1997, Gingrich became the first speaker ever reprimanded and fined for ethics violations, slapped with a $300,000 penalty. He said he'd failed to follow legal advice concerning the use of tax-exempt contributions to advance potentially partisan goals, but he was also cleared of numerous other allegations.

At the same time, Gingrich was less than eager to answer accusations made by his second wife, Marianne, who said in an ABC television interview broadcast Thursday night that he had once sought an "open marriage" so he could keep the mistress who later became his current wife. Gingrich denies the claims.

The claim was potentially damaging in a state where the Republican primary electorate includes a large segment of Christian conservatives. The thrice-married Gingrich now talks forcefully of his conversion to Catholicism and his hope for redemption for past sins, including infidelity.

Romney swept into South Carolina 10 days ago on the strength of a strong victory in the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 10 with a double-digit lead in polls in the southern state. He was thought to have edged Santorum in a photo-finish in Iowa's leadoff caucuses. However, the certified count from Iowa on Thursday showed Santorum had received more votes, although a handful of precincts remained uncertain and no winner was declared.

Santorum braced for a setback and looked ahead to the Jan. 31 Florida contest after getting the most votes in Iowa and besting Gingrich in New Hampshire. Paul made plans to focus on states where his libertarian, Internet-driven message might find more of a reception with voters; his campaign said it had purchased a substantial ad buy in Nevada and Minnesota, which hold caucuses next month.

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Associated Press writers Beth Fouhy, Kasie Hunt and Shannon McCaffrey contributed to this report from South Carolina.

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