Gingrich defeated Mitt Romney today to win today's South Carolina primary, boosted by a fiery debate performance this week that deflated the former governor's front-runner status overnight.
Rick Santorum will place third and Ron Paul will be fourth first-in-the-South contest.
Propelled by voters who were heavily influenced by the pre-primary debates, and a strong evangelical showing, Gingrich claimed a landslide victory, winning virtually every county in the Palmetto State save for a handful that went to Romney.
"It's not that I am a good debater," Gingrich said in his victory speech tonight, surrounded by his family and an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. "It's that I articulate the deepest-felt values of the American people."
Praising all three of his rivals, Gingrich, who made more than $3 million in 2010, per his tax return, repeatedly berated Washington and New York "elites."
We're now three contests into a long primary season," Romney told his supporters. "We've still got a long way to go and a lot of work to do -- and tomorrow were gonna move onto Florida."
The candidate said he welcomed his relatively newfound competition, and said he'd be "fighting for every single vote" in "the coming weeks and months."
"I'll compete in every single state," he said.
He may well do that -- but for a candidate who just days ago seemed on the verge of walking away with the GOP nomination after just three primary contests, the news likely serves as the latest in a series of setbacks that has dogged the candidate since his arrival in the Palmetto state.
On Thursday, Iowa Republican Party officials belatedly announced that Rick Santorum, not Romney, had effectively won the state's January 3 caucuses. (They made it official on Friday.) On the same day, Texas Governor Rick Perry withdrew from the race and threw his backing to Gingrich. Later still, Romney delivered a weak debate performance, faltering when answering questions about releasing his tax returns. Meanwhile, the former speaker delivered yet another dominating performance in the CNN-sponsored debate.
"Lee Atwater used to say, 'They're for you, but are they really for you?' Nobody's really for Mitt Romney," said South Carolina Republican strategist Chip Felkel. "Romney has never generated that kind of enthusiasm, and I'm not sure he's capable of generating that kind of enthusiasm."
Rick Santorum will place third and Ron Paul will be fourth first-in-the-South contest.
Propelled by voters who were heavily influenced by the pre-primary debates, and a strong evangelical showing, Gingrich claimed a landslide victory, winning virtually every county in the Palmetto State save for a handful that went to Romney.
"It's not that I am a good debater," Gingrich said in his victory speech tonight, surrounded by his family and an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. "It's that I articulate the deepest-felt values of the American people."
Praising all three of his rivals, Gingrich, who made more than $3 million in 2010, per his tax return, repeatedly berated Washington and New York "elites."
We're now three contests into a long primary season," Romney told his supporters. "We've still got a long way to go and a lot of work to do -- and tomorrow were gonna move onto Florida."
The candidate said he welcomed his relatively newfound competition, and said he'd be "fighting for every single vote" in "the coming weeks and months."
"I'll compete in every single state," he said.
He may well do that -- but for a candidate who just days ago seemed on the verge of walking away with the GOP nomination after just three primary contests, the news likely serves as the latest in a series of setbacks that has dogged the candidate since his arrival in the Palmetto state.
On Thursday, Iowa Republican Party officials belatedly announced that Rick Santorum, not Romney, had effectively won the state's January 3 caucuses. (They made it official on Friday.) On the same day, Texas Governor Rick Perry withdrew from the race and threw his backing to Gingrich. Later still, Romney delivered a weak debate performance, faltering when answering questions about releasing his tax returns. Meanwhile, the former speaker delivered yet another dominating performance in the CNN-sponsored debate.
"Lee Atwater used to say, 'They're for you, but are they really for you?' Nobody's really for Mitt Romney," said South Carolina Republican strategist Chip Felkel. "Romney has never generated that kind of enthusiasm, and I'm not sure he's capable of generating that kind of enthusiasm."
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