Gingrich Surging in South Carolina

Mitt Romney still enjoys a huge lead in the Palmetto State, but Newt Gingrich has momentum.

See: "CNN/Time Poll: Race for South Carolina tightening" (via Memeorandum).

And Los Angeles Times provides the spin, "New poll: Gingrich gains on Romney in South Carolina."

Mitt Romney still holds a double-digit lead in South Carolina ahead of the state's potentially decisive Republican primary, but Newt Gingrich has narrowed the gap some, according to a new CNN/Time poll.

Romney has the support of 33% of likely Republican primary voters in South Carolina, good for a 10-point advantage over Gingrich. That's down, however, from an 18-point lead Romney held over Rick Santorum in a poll earlier this month.

Santorum is now down to 16% in the new poll, followed by Ron Paul at 13% and Rick Perry at 6%.

For Romney, a win in South Carolina on Saturday could essentially end the GOP nominating race. He's already won the New Hampshire primary, and was the presumed victor in the Iowa caucuses a week earlier. The Iowa Republican Party will announce its final certified caucus results on Thursday.

More at the link.

And also at Los Angeles Times, "As Gingrich gains, Romney stays on the attack."

I'll be surprised if Gingrich continues to surge. The primary is Saturday and there's not much time to close the gap. The Speaker has pledged to stay in the race, but as the Times notes, another win for Romney will pretty much sew things up, regardless of what the Iowa GOP announces. Florida votes January 31 and Romney could clinch by then. I can't recall any candidate wrapping up a nomination that quickly, but I'll double check to be sure.

BONUS: Click the image above, which links to Gingrich's interview with Charlie Rose on CBS the other day. Gingrich speaks truth to power on the administration's failures in the black community and I can't say enough how much I hope Romney picks up the ball on that heading into the fall campaign. I'm confident Americans will reject the left's race-baiting and see what this debate is all about: the Democrats' failure to make a dent in the crisis of the black community in America. The only way the left can even attempt to defend themselves is by manufacturing racist "dog whistles" and hoping people fall in line like zombies. It's a morally bankrupt and stupid strategy, and they need to be called out for it over and over again. Bravo to Newt on that.