Wednesday, January 18, 2012
After roller-coaster ride in South Carolina, Gingrich fights to reclaim his Palmetto State frontrunner status ahead of Saturday primary
In Newt Gingrich's own words, he "must win" South Carolina's primary this Saturday. Despite a bravura performance in a national TV debate Monday night in Myrtle Beach, at least one new poll shows frontrunner Mitt Romney's lead widening with just three days left. What not too long ago appeared Gingrich's state to lose increasingly appears lost. Yet Gingrich supporters and admirers in the state remain ever hopeful that the candidate — who bills himself "the conservative alternative" to Romney — can still prevail. "I think there is going to be a big surprise come Saturday," said Lexington GOP activist Deborah Myers, who is wavering between supporting either Gingrich or Rick Santorum. "I think conservatives will either coalesce behind Newt, …
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Bachmann sees the writing on the wall and bows out.
A daily look at the winners and losers on the road to the S.C. GOP Primary. Considering most of the Palmetto State's primary voters were already in bed by the time Iowa posted its final results, Tuesday's caucus became Wednesday morning's caucus results. Fallout swiftly ensued. Winner: Mitt Romney may have won the caucus, but a narrow 8-vote win meant the real story was former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who shattered expectations with nearly the strongest second place finish a runner-up could hope for. There were other flaws in Romney's win. He outspent Santorum by $4 million in the state, only to arrive at the same result. And, while he might enjoy frontrunner status, Romney actually received six fewer votes in the Iowa caucus in 2012 than …
Bachmann heads South after Iowa Caucus.
After weeks of intense campaigning in Iowa, one candidate is heading to the Palmetto State in search of a second chance at primary success. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was supposed to begin three days of heavy campaigning in South Carolina, instead chose to head to Texas to "reassess." After canceling an event at Winthrop University, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) will be campaigning at a Beef O'Brady's at 940 Market Street in Fort Mill. Later this week, Bachmann will hold more South Carolina events and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney will be making two coastal stops in his first post-caucus visit to the state.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Iowa deals important cards for primary hopefuls.
A daily look at the winners and losers on the road to the S.C. GOP Primary. Iowa may not pick winners like South Carolina, but the results Tuesday night have propelled a longshot candidate to the top tier and all-but sealed the fate of a former frontrunner. Winner: Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) has seen his fortunes completely changed in the matter of weeks as the great migration of Iowa Caucus voters may have made the rounds, but settled on him. After working a tireless ground game in Iowa, the next challenge for Santorum will be to wrangle the necessary funding and support to remain competitive for the long haul. The message from Santorum voters in Iowa appeared to be "conservative values." Starting now, Santorum will have to …
Campaign spokesman says the GOP candidate still plans to visit the Palmetto State.
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, whose campaign has failed to sustain serious traction in any of the early GOP voting states, has scaled back her upcoming South Carolina appearances in a major way. Originally scheduled to appear in Greenville at Furman University's higher education center and a ballroom at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, Bachmann is now scheduled to attend much smaller events — a house party in Greenville and events at local restaurants in Spartanburg and Fort Mill. One of Bachmann’s key players in South Carolina, consultant Wesley Donehue, quickly shot down the notion that Bachmann would not be here after the Iowa caucuses. “She is still coming here, “ Donehue told Patch. “None of those events were firm anyway…
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Naming a Democratic strategist to supporter list spotlights another misstep in GOP campaign.
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann today announced her South Carolina grassroots team — but not without some excitement. Led by campaign chairman Lee Bright, campaign director Sheri Few, four paid field staff and senior advisors Ron Thomas and Wesley Donehue, the team of 33 county chairmen join the previously announced 55 tea party leaders and other new grassroots leaders to form Bachmann's so-called "Get Out The Vote" machine. Rep. Bachmann, polling at under 6 percent in the latest Clemson University Palmetto Poll, is barely more than an afterthought in the Palmetto State — trailing former Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul by double-digitis. But she has built the largest team in hopes of a …
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
After Cain announced the suspension of his presidential bid, his supporters began to look for another candidate to back.
Former leaders in businessman Herman Cain's S.C. campaign are turning their support to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann after Cain announced Saturday that he is suspending his presidential bid. Nineteen former Cain state leaders have joined Bachmann's S.C. team, the Bachmann for President campaign announced Tuesday. Among them is Matt Gottlieb, the former Herman Cain Richland County chairman. "The best indicator of a person’s future actions are their past actions," Gottlieb said. "We need a president who has always been, and who always will be, a consistent conservative.” State Representative Ralph Norman (York County) also joined Bachmann's S.C. campaign as 5th district chairman. “We need a president with the specific ideas to reform our …
Monday, December 5, 2011
Newt Gingrich is surging in the GOP field with the help of some Tea Party leaders, and Michele Bachmann is not happy about it.
If members of the South Carolina arm of the Tea Party were prepared to vote in a bloc, with nearly half of the state’s Republicans identifying with the movement, the GOP nomination would be theirs to decide. But with less than seven weeks to go before the Jan. 21 South Carolina primary, the group is looking more decisive than ever. The only belief they apparently share: Obama has got to go. "The Tea Party is all over the place," Charleston Tea Party chairman Mike Murphee said. Murphee said most people are still looking for the best candidate to beat Obama. "You've got a real tough decision," Murphee said. "But any one of them in the debates now, I'll take any of them that they give me." Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Minnesota Rep…
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
With with wheels falling off of Herman Cain's campaign amid allegations of an affair, his possible departure could help further fuel Newt Gingrich's surge or help Ron Paul or Rick Perry.
Presidential politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum — as evidenced by the constant ebb and flow at the top of the GOP race for the White House. And nothing creates a vacuum like a serious contender dropping out of the race. In light of some flops on foreign policies issues, as well as multiple accusations of inappropriate conduct and a new allegation of a protracted extramarital affair, Georgia businessman Herman Cain said Tuesday he is "reassessing" his campaign. This, of course, is leading to wide speculation that the end of his run may be imminent. So we asked South Carolina political experts to speculate on who stands to benefit the most from Cain's potential departure. At the top of the list Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House…
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Newt Gingrich out-polls the rest of the Republican field in the Palmetto State; Ron Paul ahead of Rick Perry.
Newt Gingrich has surged past Republican presidential contenders, with at least one-third of those surveyed over the week supporting the former House Speaker, according to two new polls released today. Gingrich garnered support of 38 percent in the most-recent Insider Advantage poll of South Carolina Republicans conducted Monday evening for the Augusta Chronicle. The former House Speaker, according to the poll of 519 likely Jan. 21 primary voters, has a commanding lead over former Gov. Mitt Romney at 15 percent and businessman Herman Cain at 13 percent. No other candidate has support in the double-digits, as Rep. Ron Paul polled at 7 percent, Gov. Rick Perry at 4 percent, Rep. Michele Bachmann at 3 percent and former Sen. Rick Santorum at …
David Leader
11:36 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
I'd consider him the "Conservative Alternative" all right; the alternative to having "morals" or "devotion". Seriously, we aren't this desperate. more ›