COMMENTARY | MSNBC reports Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary on Saturday and Mitt Romney came in second. The fact Gingrich was able to win the South Carolina primary shows the true divide of the Republican Party, even as the field begins to narrow. Out of three elections so far, there have been three winners, so is the Republican Party really that divided? As a Republican voter, here is how Gingrich winning might not be a good thing after all.
There is a huge divide going on in the Republican Party, which could signal disaster come election time. It appears Romney has lost support over the past few months. Santorum won Iowa and Gingrich won South Carolina, and both states are important in determining the eventual Republican nominee.
It is interesting the tea party and very conservative voters chose Gingrich, considering he has not exactly been a candidate with conservative values over the years. The airwaves have been filled with allegations of Gingrich having affairs and asking for an open marriage, but the conservative voters do not seem to mind these questionable character issues. When it comes to the nominee for the presidency, it appears that the Republican Party is still undecided at the best person to beat President Barack Obama.
If Romney wins the nomination, it will really put the spotlight on whether or not he can drum up support of the anti-Romney base in an effort to defeat Obama. Neither Gingrich nor Romney are right for the presidency nor good for the Republican Party, but the main objective is to just beat Obama now and worry about finding a better candidate later.
If Gingrich keeps the momentum shifting in his direction, it will further divide the Republican Party, and potentially cause Romney to lose voters, if he does win the general election. It also appeared from South Carolina that Romney was not able to grab the majority of evangelical Christian votes, which could be due to Romney being a Mormon. Gingrich won roughly 40 percent of the evangelical votes, and Romney won about 20 percent, so religion might become a huge divide for the Republican Party as well. The divide going into the election might help Obama win, unless Republicans can find common ground.
Michael O’Brien, “Gingrich wins SC GOP primary, beating Romney”, MSNBC