Romney, Gingrich go neck and neck

By DAVID ESPO

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, S.C. — On the eve of a Southern showdown, Mitt Romney conceded Friday he’s in a tight race with Newt Gingrich for Saturday’s South Carolina primary in a Republican campaign suddenly turned turbulent.

It’s “neck and neck,” Romney declared, while a third presidential contender, former Sen. Rick Santorum, swiped at both men in hopes of springing yet another campaign surprise.

Days after forecasting a Romney victory, Sen. Jim DeMint said the campaign’s first Southern primary was now a two-man race between the former Massachusetts governor, who has struggled in recent days with questions about his personal wealth and taxes, and Gingrich, the former House speaker who has been surging in polls after a pair of well-received debate performances.

The stakes were high as Republicans sought a challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama. Television advertising by the candidates and their supporters exceeded $10 million here, much of it spent in the past two weeks, and mailboxes were stuffed with campaign flyers.

In a bit of home-state boosterism, DeMint said the primary winner was “likely to be the next president of the United States.”

The winner of the primary has gone on to capture the Republican nomination each year since 1980.

A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into the Florida primary on Jan. 31. He and an organization supporting him are already airing television ads in that state, which is one of the country’s costliest in which to campaign.

If the former Massachusetts governor stumbles in South Carolina, it could portend a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination stretching well into spring and further expose rifts inside the party between those who want a candidate who can defeat Obama more than anything else, and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.