FOX News Calls South Carolina Primary for Newt Gingrich

The polls have closed in South Carolina and Fox News has called the primary for Newt Gingrich. The late Newt Gingrich surge takes the Palmetto state of South Carolina. So now each candidate has won one primary/caucus. Onward to Florida.

The South Carolina by county vote can be seen here.

ABC News also calling it for Gingrich as well. CBS counting the votes.

Newt Gingrich will defeat Mitt Romney to win today’s South Carolina primary, according to ABC News projections based on exit poll data.

Ron Paul and Rick Santorum were battling for third place.

According to exit polls, two-thirds of South Carolinian’s said that the debates matter and that the Newt affair or “open marriage” accusation from Gingrich’s ex-wife did not.  However, what should matter to GOP primary voters is why Newt Gingrich left office amid his ethics scandal. Mark my words, this will come out in the general election if Newt wins the GOP nomination and we best know up front why he left rather than face an October surprise.

Fox News calling Santorum will be third and Ron Paul a distant fourth.

As the GOP candidates head into Florida the RCP average polls are as follows: Romney 40.5%, Gingrich 22.0%, Santorum 15.0& and Paul 9.0%.

UPDATE I: Final South Carolina primary results:

Gingrich: 40.4% 243,153
Romney: 27.8% 167,279
Santorum: 17.0% 102,055
Paul: 13.0% 77,993
Cain: 1.1% 6,324
Perry: 0.4% 2,494
Huntsman: 0.2% 1,161
Bachmann: 0.1% 494

GOP Presidential Primary: Rick Santorum Now Appears to Have Won Iowa Caucuses Over Romney by 34 Votes

Who won the Republican Iowa Caucus, first it was Romney by 8 votes, now it appears to be Santorum by 34.

According to the Des Moines Register, there has been a reversal of fortune. Rick Santorum is now considered the winner of the Iowa Caucuses by 34 votes. Hmm, for a state that goes first in the primary/caucus nomination process of Presidents, one would think they could get their act together. If a state can’t handle a voting count, maybe you do not need to be first anymore.

THE RESULTS: Santorum finished ahead by 34 votes
MISSING DATA: 8 precincts’ numbers will never be certified
PARTY VERDICT: GOP official says, ‘It’s a split decision’

Rick Santorum – Final total: 29,839 Change: -168
Mitt Romney – Final total: 29,805 Change: -210

It’s a tie for the ages.

There are too many holes in the certified totals from the Iowa caucuses to know for certain who won, but Rick Santorum wound up with a 34-vote advantage.

Results from eight precincts are missing — any of which could hold an advantage for Mitt Romney — and will never be recovered and certified, Republican Party of Iowa officials told The Des Moines Register on Wednesday.

However, it appears that the Caucus has turned into a game of T-ball. The GOP party decision in Iowa might be one of the most lame things ever.  As reported at The Hill, the Iowa Republican party will release the certified vote totals from this year’s Iowa caucuses showing Rick Santorum defeating Mitt Romney with a 34 votes, but results from eight precincts are missing and one official called the result a “split decision.” A split decision? Seriously, what a joke. What is this, a boxing match looking for a rematch? This decision probably will not change Santorum’s position in the South Carolina primary; however, it certainly is embarrassing for the Iowa GOP caucuses.

Judge Rules Against Rick Perry’s Virginia Ballot Law Suit … Perry, Gingrich, Santorum & Huntsman Will Not Appear on VA Ballot for March 6th Primary

NO SOUP FOR YOU …

A Virginia judge rules against Rick Perry’s legal challenge to the Virginia ballot rules. If the primaries make it to March 6 and the Virginia primaries, Perry, Gingrich, Santorum and Huntsman will not be on the primary ballot. so says  U.S. district judge John Gibney. Basically the judge states, the candidates knew the rules in advance, they had an opportunity to follow the rules and failed to do so. Since they did not get the required 10,000 signatures from registered voters, including at least 400 signatures from each of the state’s congressional districts, they failed to meet the standard to be on the ballot.

The courts opinion can be read HERE.

“They knew the rules in Virginia many months ago; the limitations on circulators affected them as soon as they began to circulate petitions,” he writes. “The plaintiffs could have challenged the Virginia law at that time. Instead, they waited until after the time to gather petitions had ended and they had lost the political battle to be on the ballot; then, on the eve of the printing of absentee ballots, they decided to challenge Virginia’s laws. In essence, they played the game, lost, and then complained that the rules were unfair.”

The decision means Perry, as well as Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman, will not appear on the ballot in the state’s March 6 primary.

Much more on the decision at Outside the Beltway.

The decision makes perfect sense. Everyone knew the standard to be on the ballot, if you failed to meet that standard why should you be rewarded for not following the rules.  The only names that will appear on the Virginia GOP primary ballot will be Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. That should be an interesting situation in its own right.

CBS Poll: Romney Beats Mitt Obama 47-45, Ron Paul Tied and Santorum Only Trails by 4 Points

WOW, the following CBS poll could not have gone over well with Barack Obama and his reelection minions. A CBS poll shows Obama trailing GOP Presidential primary contender Mitt Romney 47-45, basically tied with Ron Paul and The One leads Rick Santorum 47-43.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds a two-point lead against President Obama in a potential general election matchup, according to a new CBS News poll.

The survey found that Romney is the only GOP candidate to hold a lead over the president in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, though Texas Rep. Ron Paul trails by just one point.

Both Romney’s lead over Mr. Obama – 47 percent to 45 percent – and Mr. Obama’s lead over Paul – 46 percent to 45 percent – are within the survey’s three percentage point margin of error.

More polling analysis at NRO.

Let the primary voting begin in New Hampshire … first up, voting results from Dixville Notch.

Post Iowa Caucus … Mitt Romney Up Big in New New Hampshire Polls with 20 Point Lead, Santorum Sees Modest Bounce

With just a few days to go before New Hampshire primary, Romney with commanding lead.

Following the Iowa Caucus 8 vote narrow victory by Mitt Romney over Rick Santorum, the former Massachusetts Governor appears to be up big in the polls for the New Hampshire primary. According to three polls, Mitt Romney has a commanding lead in the Granite state of NH. Romney is in the lead in New Hampshire; however, it appears that Santorum has received a modest bounce as well. It is impossible to imagine that Mitt Romney will not win NH; however, the real question is whether the second place candidate will be Santorum or Paul and if that individual will get more than 20% of the vote.

A Suffolk University poll for Boston-based WHDH-TV shows Mitt Romney up big with an overwhelming 40%, in second is Ron Paul with 17% and Rick Santorum has surged into third with 11%.

An NBC/Marist poll, Romney receives 42% of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, followed by Ron Paul with 22, and Rick Santorum at 13%. Although Romney has a commanding lead in NH and it is pretty much a forgone conclusion that the race will be called much quicker primary night in New Hampshire, than that of the Iowa Cuacus, the poll shows that Santorum has made considerable gains from 2% to 13% in a month.

More than a month ago – in an NBC-Marist poll conducted Nov. 28-30 – Romney stood at 39 percent, Gingrich at 24 percent, Paul at 16 percent, Huntsman at 9 percent, Perry at 3 percent and Santorum at 2 percent.

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll conducted for WMUR-TV also shows Romney up big in New Hampshire prior to next weeks primary and Santorum with an increase. The poll shows Romney leading the way with 43% of the vote, Paul in second with 18%, Santorum in third up from 4% to 11%, and Gingrich and Huntsman trailing the pack.

More polling data and analysis at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Also, the most recent Rasmussen poll shows a major shake up in the GOP race, Santorum up big; however, Romney up as well.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary Voters in New Hampshire finds Romney earning 42% support. Texas Congressman Ron Paul is a distant second with 18% of the vote, followed by former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, hot off his photo finish with Romney in the Iowa caucuses, at 13%.

According to the Real Clear Politics average polling, Romney up by 21% in the Granite state.