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CHARLESTON, S.C. – South Carolina Republicans went to the polls Saturday, poised to shake up the presidential campaign and deny Mitt Romney the easy victory he’d hoped might cap a march to the party’s presidential nomination.

Even before the South Carolina polls closed at 7 p.m. EST, it was clear that Palmetto State Republicans were refusing to go along with what days earlier appeared to be a Romney sweep to victory in their state. A new American Research Group poll released Saturday showed Gingrich with 40 percent of the vote, while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney trailed at 26 percent. The poll was taken Thursday and Friday.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, appeared braced for a disappointing finish.

“We’d like to win here, of course, but we have a long way to go,” Romney told a crowd at Tommy’s Ham House in Greenville, S.C., Saturday. “So come join us in Florida, then in Nevada, Michigan, Colorado.”

Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, relished a tide of support in recent days, thanks to two strong debate performances.

“I was hoping for a debate. Where’s Mitt?” Gingrich said when he arrived at the same Tommy’s Ham House a half-hour after Romney, who arrived and left well ahead of schedule and avoided a personal encounter with his chief rival.

Voters were divided between the two candidates topping the polls.
Gingrich’s three marriages and admissions of affairs made no shred of difference to many voters, including Rema Thomas, 60, of Chapin, S.C., an evangelical who decided on Gingrich after watching the two S.C. debates.

“No one does not have baggage. Newt’s was just exposed more because of his time in politics,” she said. “I think it’s time for a bulldog president. Grab ‘em by the pants leg and don’t leg to until you draw blood. That’s Newt.”

“I like Mitt Romney. He’s the only guy who can beat Obama,” said Tim Walker, a general contractor from Columbia, S.C.
But Romney, who watched a double-digit lead here five days ago evaporate, had to contend with voters jumping on the Gingrich bandwagon instead.

“I don’t think Romney is the best person to put forward,” said Nikki Trawick a, business woman from Columbia who was voting for Gingrich.

Many voters said the two S.C. debates held in Myrtle Beach and Charleston the past week were game changers, convincing South Carolina that Gingrich could take the fight to President Barack Obama in November – and simultaneously pound the media.

“One of the worst things in this country is the media,” said Steve Chase, 61, of Chapin, S.C., who voted for Gingrich on Saturday. “They have an agenda. And (Gingrich) is the only one, probably since Reagan, who stands up to them.”

At stake were 25 delegates, about 1 percent of the 2,286 that will vote at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., the final week of August. The winner of the South Carolina vote will get 11 delegates; the popular-vote winner in each of seven congressional districts will get 2 delegates.
Bragging rights also were up for grabs.

The winner of the South Carolina Republican primary has gone on to win the nomination in every contested election since 1980.
In addition to Romney and Gingrich, voters had a choice of two other active candidates, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.

Santorum faced a test of whether his appeal to social conservatives would pay off, particularly in a state where 60 percent of primary voters in 2008 called themselves born-again or
Romney signaled Saturday that he’ll escalate attacks on Gingrich heading toward Florida, at the same time that he belatedly agreed to a second debate in the state this week. The candidates will debate Monday night in Tampa and Thursday night in Jacksonville.

Romney called on Gingrich to better explain the $1.6 million in payments he received from troubled housing agency Freddie Mac.

“I’d like to see what he actually told Freddie Mac. Don’t you think we ought to see it?” he said.

Romney’s campaign also noted in an e-mail that it was the anniversary of the day in 1997 when the House of Representatives voted to reprimand the then-speaker of the House for unethical conduct.

“Happy 15th anniversary, Mr. Speaker,” Romney’s campaign said.