Saturday, January 21, 2012

Newt Gingrich stormed to an upset win in the South Carolina primary Saturday night, dealing a sharp setback to Mitt Romney and scrambling the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul trailed badly.

Santorum Says He'll Stay In

Coming off of a third-place finish in South Carolina, Rick Santorum is promising to move forward with a message that he says is different than that of his rivals -- the message that "every person in America will have the opportunity to rise again."

Santorum, who received a boost in the hours before the South Carolina by being declared the winner of the Iowa caucuses earlier
this month, told supporters that it's a "wide open race." And he urged people to "join the fight."

Santorum said working people in South Carolina and in his home state of Pennsylvania don't want government to care for them -- they want someone who "believes in them."

Paul Vows Momentum Will Contnue

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul told supporters Saturday that the momentum of his campaign will continue.

Paul told a cheering crowd that his campaign started as a way to grow support for his libertarian ideas. But now he said his campaign is focused on winning delegates to secure the GOP nomination for the White House.

Exit polls showed the Texas congressman placing fourth in the state's Republican primary Saturday evening.

Romney Says GOP Needs Business Leader

Even as he congratulates Newt Gingrich on his victory in the South Carolina primary, Mitt Romney is telling supporters that Gingrich isn't the one to lead the Republicans to victory in November.

He says Republicans can't win with a candidate who has never run
a business and has never run a state. Without singling out Gingrich
by name, Romney again criticized Republican opponents who he said
had joined Democrats in attacking the free enterprise system.
Gingrich had been among those raising questions about Romney's
tenure as head of a venture capital firm.

Romney devoted most of his other remarks to an attack on President Barack Obama, repeating his charge that Obama wants to "fundamentally transform" America, while Romney wants to restore it to its founding principles. He promised to repeal Obama's health care overhaul, balance the budget and reduce the size of government.

Romney vowed to "keep fighting for every vote" in the weeks and months ahead. He's already looking ahead to the next primary in Florida, a state that he says has "suffered terribly" under what he calls the "failed policies" of Obama.