COMMENTARY | Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s decisive win over Mitt Romney in South Carolina was largely based on his debater performance, according to exit polls conducted by CBS News. South Carolina voters who identified themselves as Protestant/Other Christian make up the majority of voters at 80 percent. Gingrich received 42 percent of those votes and 37 percent of the votes of people who Identify themselves as Catholic. Rick Santorum, who is Roman Catholic, received 15 percent of the Catholic vote. Despite the large number of people who identify themselves as Evangelical in South Carolina, when asked how much it matters to them that a candidate shares their religious beliefs only 26 percent responded that it matters a great deal.
South Carolina voters felt Newt Gingrich is more likely to defeat Barack Obama than any of the other candidates. Primary voters were also asked “Which ONE of these candidate qualities mattered most in deciding how you voted today? (CHECK ONLY ONE).” Of the four choices given, an overwhelming 45 percent chose “Can defeat Barack Obama.” Of those voters, 51 percent felt New Gingrich was the best choice. Mitt Romney was a distant second choice with 37 percent.
Rasmussen Reports shows Gingrich leading Romney 41 percent to 32 percent in Florida as the Florida primary approaches. A Rasmussen national poll shows Gingrich with 35 percent to Romney’s 28 percent. President Obama will have to deal with his record as he faces his Republican challenger in the general election. If that candidate is Gingrich, he will have already weathered much of the storm about his past. President Obama will begin going on the offense with his third State of the Union Address. He will not doubt point to recent improvements in the economy. The Daily Presidential Tracking Poll has Obama’s approval rating at 22 percent and disapproval at 38 percent. Despite how poor that may sound for his Democratic supporters, the same poll shows him ahead of both Gingrich and Romney if the election were held today. Obama gains 46 percent of likely voters and Romney 43 percet. With Gingrich as the Republican candidate the current results are President Obama 49 percent and Gingrich 40 percent.
The Republican voters of South Carolina have spoken and the results were not what anyone was predicting in the weeks leading up to the primary. Mitt Romney was already preparing his acceptance speech of the parties nomination when he was forced to concede defeat in both the Iowa Caucus and the South Carolina Primary.
Leading in the polls by 10 points now is no guarantee of winning the general election. President Obama still has a difficult task ahead — running against both the Republican candidate and his own record as president.