Charleston, South Carolina: Newt Gingrich surged to victory in the South Carolina presidential primary, batting back questions about his personal life and riding a pair of strong debate performances to overtake Mitt Romney and slow his seeming march to the GOP nomination.
Romney finished more than 10 percentage points behind the former House speaker on Saturday, with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul a distant third and fourth, respectively.
Gingrich, flashing just an occasional smile, marked his victory with a sober address to supporters in Columbia, praising each of his opponents and returning to a favourite tack — bashing the media and "the elites in Washington and New York [who] have no understanding, no care, no connection, no reliability" and fail to represent the American people.
"It's not that I am a good debater," he said, ignoring the boisterous chants of supporters and delivering his remarks in the tone of a college lecture. "It is that I articulate the deepest felt values of the American people." His only criticism was of President Barack Obama — "A president so weak he makes Jimmy Carter look strong" — and the inspiration that Gingrich said the Democrat draws from the radical left. "We are going to argue American exceptionalism, the American Declaration of Independence, the American Constitution, the American Federalist Papers," Gingrich said as the crowd chanted, "USA! USA!"
Only at the end of his nearly half-hour speech did Gingrich deliver something approaching the usual election night exhortation. "We need to build on this victory by going to Florida," he told backers, urging them to recruit others they know to volunteer and contribute.
"We proved here in South Carolina that people power with the right ideas beats big money, and with your help we're going to prove it again in Florida."
Tight smile
Earlier, wearing a tight smile and speaking with a sharp edge to his voice, Romney addressed supporters at his campaign headquarters, offering cursory congratulations to Gingrich and then lacing into his opponent. Without mentioning Gingrich by name, Romney contrasted his business background with the former congressman's long Washington resume and lumped him together with Obama, saying the two had waged class warfare and "attacked the free-enterprise system that has made America the economic envy of the world".
"The Republican Party doesn't demonise success," Romney said. "We celebrate success in our party.... Those who pick up the weapons of the left today will find them turned against them tomorrow."
Financial advantages
The former Massachusetts governor vowed to make his case across the country, noting that the balloting had just begun and implicitly underscoring the financial and organisational advantages he still wields in the race.
The results — which seemed improbable as recently as a week ago — added yet another twist to a roller-coaster campaign, marking the first time ever that three different contestants have won the first three Republican contests.
— Los Angeles Times
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