Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Romney, Perry ad buys don't result in votes
Republican presidential candidates spent the most money ever on advertising during the South Carolina primary, but it didn't necessarily result in success at the polls. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent the most on ads in South Carolina and got little return on their investment, according to The State. Romney and his Super PAC spent $4.7 million for a disappointing second-place finish and Perry spent $2.5 million before dropping out of the race prior to primary day. In contrast, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spent $2.4 million in South Carolina and still ran away with the primary, earning 40 percent of the vote. Rep. Ron Paul and Sen. Rick Santorum each spent about $1.7 million in South Carolina and…
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Those in the field working hard, but others stay on the bench.
Movement could come fast and furious in the final days of the S.C. Primary as candidates work feverishly to lock in the endorsement of influential Republicans. But those who could actually move votes remain hesitant. The hunt is more important than in primaries past, as a shifting electorate finds it difficult to settle on a favorite while big-name politicians sit on the sidelines. And, as the high-profile Republicans wait, regional leaders were doing what they could to support their candidate. For the SCGOP debate in Myrtle Beach four years ago, Sens. Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham were holding court in the spin room, pitching their candidate. Both have sat out this race, along with a majority of the GOP delegation in the U.S. House. That …
Monday, January 16, 2012
The former Utah governor is stepping out the race and throwing his support behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
The presidential campaign of Jon Huntsman, which began with much promise, including an announcement in front of the Statue of Liberty, came to an end on Monday. Prior to saying he was suspending his campaign Huntsman, chastised his fellow Republicans, ”This race has degenerated into an onslaught of personal attacks and negative campaigning not worthy of the American people,” Huntsman said. The former Utah governor then called on his former competitors to remove the “toxic form” from campaigns and to “cease attacking each other and speak to the American people with bold ideas.” Before a packed press gathering at the Sheraton Hotel, which has hosted this weekend’s GOP experience and will host tonight’s debate, Huntsman blasted his former …
In the area of multimillion-dollar air wars, do grip-and-grins and retail politics matter as much as they used to? If so, Rick Santorum would be surging.
While GOP presidential candidates can be counted on to wage a fierce air war in the South Carolina primary, many of the six remaining candidates in the race also seem to believe that waging good old-fashioned war on the ground here is still vital. But is it? If pounding the shoe leather and building a wide grassroots organization is the ticket to winning the state, then former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum should be surging. But he's not. Despite several dozen visits to the state (the most of any candidate by far) and a strong grassroots infrastructure in nearly all the state's 46 counties, Santorum is looking up at the frontrunner (former Gov. Mitt Romney) and dropping in the polls, according to a Public Policy poll released Friday. …
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Jon Huntsman has decided to leave the race
Jon Huntsman has decided to drop out of the race for White House Sunday night, according to the The Huffington Post. According to the article, an aide to Huntsman confirmed the news and said the former governor of Utah would endorse Mitt Romney on Monday. Huntsman stood near the bottom of all recent South Carolina polls. He finished third in New Hampshire, a state that he invested heavily in after skipping the Iowa Caucus. Jeff Zeleny, a political correspondent for the New York Times, said on Twitter that Huntsman was "poised to endorse Romney." Huntsman's departure comes during a big weekend for the South Carolina Republican Party. The candidates are gathered in Myrtle Beach for the Tea Party Convention and Monday's SCGOP Debate. Huntsman…
Thursday, January 12, 2012
New poll shows Gingrich just behind Romney
A new poll shows former House speaker Newt Gingrich creeping closer to frontrunner Mitt Romney in the race for South Carolina. The InsiderAdvantage poll surveyed 726 likely GOP primary voters on Wednesday, the day after Romney won the New Hampshire primary. Here are the complete results: Romney's two-point lead was smaller than his lead in polls released last week. Those polls also showed Gingrich and Santorum in a virtual dead-heat, while the latest poll shows Gingrich with a more secure hold on second place. Even with the latest poll, Romney maintains a nine-point lead over Gingrich according to the RealClearPolitics average of all recent South Carolina polls. Polls have been a rollercoaster throughout the campaign, but as the date of …
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Huntsman stumps, answers questions from young crowd
If crowds like the one he spoke to on Wednesday afternoon follow the former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman across South Carolina, he could make the push he needs to get back in the nomination conversation. Huntsman spoke to jam-packed room of students, media and community members at the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business, hitting his stump speech high notes before fielding a handful of questions. "Huntsman crossed a partisan line to serve his country," Huntsman said, referring to his time as ambassador to China and himself in the third person. "I did. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I’m always going to put my country first." Fresh off a third-place finish in New Hampshire, Huntsman focused on his international …
Monday, January 9, 2012
Romney has his worst day in weeks.
Winner: The reality is that Texas Gov. Rick Perry won't have many good days in the next week-and-a-half, but he has found at least one. While the other candidates are busy locking up first, second, third, fourth, and fifth (and Buddy Roemer may even get sixth), Perry was doing the only thing he can: asking South Carolinians for their vote. At events in the Upstate, Perry and his wife, Anita Perry, were talking about his outsider roots and the need for something different in Washington. “South Carolina Republicans are not going to let Iowa or New Hampshire Republicans choose the candidate for president, South Carolina does,” state campaign chair Katon Dawson said. “Right now we’re going to have our say,” Dawson said. “This is a …
Friday, January 6, 2012
Three polls show Romney leading, Santorum, Gingrich fighting for second
Many have speculated that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney can't win South Carolina, but the latest polls show that he's in the lead. Despite a surge from Sen. Rick Santorum following his performance in Iowa, Romney led all three polls released Thursday. Polls have varied greatly during the race for South Carolina, and that trend will likely continue. During 2008, John McCain stood fourth in early January polls before eventually winning the primary. Update: CNN/Time/ORC Poll Shows Romney Holds Large Lead A poll released Thursday by CNN shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with his largest lead yet in South Carolina. According to the poll, Romney holds 37 percent support from likely Republican voters. His nearest opponent, Sen. …
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Daughters stump for parents to undecided crowd
Most Republican presidential candidates have turned their attention to New Hampshire this week, but their daughters are looking forward to South Carolina. Jackie Gingrich Cushman, daughter of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Libby and Mary Ann Huntsman, two of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's three daughters, spoke to the Capital City Republican Women's Club Thursday night to encourage members to take a closer look at their fathers. Cushman, like her father, tried to stay positive about all the candidates but one: Mitt Romney. Although she began her mention of Romney by calling him a great businessman, she went on to suggest that he would fail in the White House. "If we had a pretty good system that I thought we should just manage a …
Gretchen
8:25 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
By the time the election rolls around, I am sick of the TV ads and the phone calls. I wish the candidates would save their money for mailings and let us READ about them. more ›