Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Voters go to polls today for the hotly contested Texas Senate race.
When Rick Perry was running for president he made nice with South Carolina's junior Senator Jim DeMint, even if he was not able to attend Demint's Labor Day candidates forum. But that was a long time ago. The Texas governor sharply criticized DeMint on the eve of a primary for US Senator. Perry's lieutenant governor, David Dewhurst has been locked in a battle with Ted Cruz for the right to be the GOP nominee in the race to replace retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Cruz has raised millions of dollars from outside the Lone Star State in his pursuit of the office, including $2 million from DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund. Several high-profile politicians have come to Texas and campaigned on Cruz's behalf, including DeMint, Rick Santorum …
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Romney, Perry ad buys don't result in votes
Republican presidential candidates spent the most money ever on advertising during the South Carolina primary, but it didn't necessarily result in success at the polls. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent the most on ads in South Carolina and got little return on their investment, according to The State. Romney and his Super PAC spent $4.7 million for a disappointing second-place finish and Perry spent $2.5 million before dropping out of the race prior to primary day. In contrast, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spent $2.4 million in South Carolina and still ran away with the primary, earning 40 percent of the vote. Rep. Ron Paul and Sen. Rick Santorum each spent about $1.7 million in South Carolina and…
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Triumphant candidate greets rabid crowd in Columbia, and now sets his sights on Florida.
This story has been updated. As the wine flowed and the music blared Saturday night, a triumphant Newt Gingrich and several hundred rabid supporters celebrated a resounding victory over the rest of the Republican field and vowed to take the fight on to Florida. Introducing Gingrich to a capacity crowd at the Hilton Hotel ballroom in Columbia, Billy Wilkins, a former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, said: "Make no mistake about it. This was a landslide victory." "This was the political version of a tsunami," he said to rousing applause. Onstage, Gingrich told the crowd: "With your help, we are now moving on to Florida -- and beyond." The victory Saturday was Gingrich's first after dismal showings in…
Friday, January 20, 2012
Last PPP poll gives Gingrich 9-point lead
Update (10:35 p.m.): The final Public Policy Polling survey of South Carolina voters showed Newt Gingrich with his largest lead since December over Mitt Romney. The poll, released late Friday, showed Gingrich earning 37 percent support among the 1,540 likely primary voters surveyed and Romney earning 28 percent. Data showed that Gingrich's attacks on the press during Thursday's debate played well in the Palmetto State, as 77 percent of voters said they had a negative view of the media. Gingrich rose 13 points in PPP polling during the final week, while Romney remained stagnant. The poll also shows a small bump for Rick Santorum, who earned 16 percent support. Ron Paul was fourth with 14 percent. According to the pollsters at PPP,"Gingrich …
Thursday, January 19, 2012
While Newt Gingrich's campaign views Perry's support as possible conservative coalescence behind the former Speaker, Rick Santorum's campaign believes Perry voters still identify better with their candidate.
Longshot presidential candidate Rick Perry dropped out of the race Thursday morning in Charleston. It was the same South Carolina town where he launched his run in late summer. At one point considered a leader in the GOP race, the Texas governor ultimately proved not ready for primetime after a series of embarrassing gaffes and poor debate performances. "As I have contemplated the future of this campaign, I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path to victory for my candidacy in 2012," Perry said. "Therefore, today I am suspending my campaign, and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president. "I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country. We have had our differences, which campaigns inevitably bring out…
Join us at 7 p.m. tonight for the final debate before Saturday's GOP primary.
Campaign supporters, political watchers and a half-dozen Patch editors from across the state will take part in our live blog tonight for the CNN GOP Debate from Charleston. Not near a TV? Watch it here live, starting at 8 p.m.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced he would drop out of the race and support former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
UPDATED: 11:23 a.m. The race to the GOP nomination has lost another candidate. Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced in Charleston this morning that he was suspending his race, after losing two key endorsements and sliding in the polls, and will support former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. At a press conference at the Hyatt Hotel in North Charleston, Perry thanked his supporters and his family for their support. Perry made reference several times in his comments that this election hasn't been about one man. "Our objective isn't just to defeat President Obama, but to replace him with a conservative leader who will bring about real change," Perry said. That conservative for Perry is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "I have no question…
New polls released Thursday show Gingrich inching closer
Four South Carolina polls released Wednesday show former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in a virtual dead heat with frontrunner Mitt Romney. Each candidate leads two of the polls. With Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropping out of the race, Gingrich could pick up even more voters with the primary just three days away. Romney's largest lead came in an NBC/Marist poll in which he earned 34 percent support among likely primary voters. Gingrich earned 24 percent. Romney also led the Politico/Tarrance poll, earning 37 percent support to Gingrich's 30 percent. But in the InsiderAdvantage poll, Gingrich overcame an 11-point deficit to regain the lead. He earned 32 percent support in the poll, while Romney earned 29 percent support. And in the Rasmussen poll…
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Griffin Perry, the son of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, stopped by his dad's Greenville campaign headquarters Wednesday.
The volunteers at the Greenville campaign headquarters for Texas Gov. Rick Perry are hard at work spreading the word about their candidate. With just two more days before the pivotal South Carolina GOP primary, there's no time for distraction. Well, maybe just one. On Wednesday, volunteers got a special visit from Griffin Perry, the presidential hopeful's son. Griffin Perry thanked the volunteers for their efforts. And after a short break to meet the governor's son, the volunteers quickly got back to work. "I saw how important it was to get involved," Rachel Sciolaro, 20, of Leawood Kansas said. Scilaro is a senior Political Science major at the University of Central Missouri and took time off from school to travel with her family first …
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, …
Suzella
12:45 am on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
I hate outsiders influencing campaigns. No different there than all the outside-of-SC $$$ supporting Haley and look what we got. Somebody supporting Savannah's port expansion instead of our own. more ›