Santorum pledges to stay in the race
CHARLESTON, s.c. — Vowing to go forward, Republican Rick Santorum cast his disappointing third-place finish in this state’s primary as a hiccup and pledged Saturday to continue campaigning in a race he called “wide open.”
“Let me assure you we will go to Florida and we will go to Arizona,” he said in an election night rally at the Citadel, before supporters interrupted him with cheers of “We pick Rick.”
Santorum eked out a narrow win in lead-off Iowa but lost in a blow-out to Mitt Romney in New Hampshire. Santorum had cast South Carolina as a place where he could start a well-financed, traditional campaign, yet he came up well short to Newt Gingrich.
“Three states. Three different winners. What a great country,” Santorum said.
Paul undaunted by last place •COLUMBIA, s.c. — Brushing off his poor last place finish in the South Carolina primary Saturday, Republican Ron Paul promised supporters the momentum around his libertarian-leaning campaign would continue.
“This is the beginning of a long, hard job,” the Texas congressman told fans gathered at a sports bar in Columbia, the state capital.
Paul vowed to battle on in states holding caucuses over the next several weeks, saying the fight now is to amass delegates rather than to notch splashy wins.
“We will be promoting the whole idea of getting more delegates, because that’s the name of the game,” Paul said.
Gingrich thumbs nose at “elites”•COLUMBIA, s.c. — On Saturday night before a packed crowd at the Hilton in Columbia, Newt Gingrich described his win in South Carolina as a victory over the “elites.” He was gracious to his competitors, even Mitt Romney with whom he has sparred.
With an eye toward Florida, Ging rich urged supporters to donate and get involved. “We don’t have the kind of money that at least one of the candidates has,” he said in a reference to Romney. “And we proved here in South Carolina that people powered with the right ideas beats big money.”
Obama foes, economy fears boost Gingrich •WASHINGTON — Strong backing from conservative and religious voters and people fretting about the uncertain economy fueled Newt Gingrich’s victory Saturday in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary, an exit poll of voters showed Saturday.
The figures showed that for the first time, the former House speaker had grabbed two constituencies that his chief rival, Mitt Romney, prided himself in winning in the year’s two previous GOP contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. By a decisive 5-to-4 margin, Gingrich bested Romney among voters looking for someone to defeat President Barack Obama, and he led Romney by nearly as much among those who considered the economy the top issue in picking a candidate.
Gingrich benefited most from the campaign’s final, tumultuous week, the figures showed.
Just over half said they’d chosen a candidate in the past few days, and they backed Gingrich over Romney, the former Massachusetts governor by 2-1. By a slightly stronger margin, the roughly two-thirds who said campaign debates were an important factor also supported Gingrich.
Perry urges supporters to back Gingrich•GREENVILLE, s.c. — After Texas Gov. Rick Perry bowed out of the presidential race last week, his senior campaign leaders in South Carolina set to work closing down the three campaign offices, collecting yard signs and dismantling staff.
But their most important assignment from Perry, said state campaign chairman Katon Dawson, was to go to work immediately to help former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in his battle to upset former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the state’s critical first-in-the South primary.
Perry’s decision to drop out of the race and endorse the former speaker helped contribute to Ging rich’s victory, although the exact degree was still being determined as results came in Saturday. Denver Post wire services
