Santorum South Carolina Bump: Romney 27, Rick 24, Newt 18

Politics   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jan 6, 2012   |   11:51AM   |   Columbia, SC

A new poll released today by Rasmussen shows pro-life Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has received a bump in South Carolina following his very close second place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

Santorum finished just eight votes behind Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor campaigning as a pro-life candidate, and the surprise second place standing has catapulted him both in national polls and, as this new survey shows, in South Carolina — the site of the third primary election battleground.

Santorum was running at 1 percent of the vote in the state one month ago, but much has changed and he now is running a close second there with 24% of the vote.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Palmetto State finds Mitt Romney still in the lead, earning 27% support from likely GOP Primary Voters, up from 23% in early November. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in third with 18% of the vote, followed by Texas Congressman Ron Paul at 11%. Gingrich and Paul are also pro-life.

Bringing up the rear are Texas Governor Rick Perry with five percent (5%) and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman at two percent (2%). Another two percent (2%) of these likely primary voters like some other candidate, and 11% remain undecided. Perry and Huntsman are pro-life as well.

The latest findings from South Carolina parallel the voting sentiments of Republicans nationally following the Iowa caucuses, with Romney out front with 29% support.  Santorum, after his photo finish with Romney in Tuesday’s caucuses, runs second at 21%, with Gingrich in third with 16% of the vote.

“Things remain fluid in South Carolina, however, with nearly half the state’s primary voters (48%) saying they still could change their minds. Just 41% are certain already of how they will vote.  Those certain of their vote include 62% of Paul’s supporters, 51% of Perry’s backers, 50% of Romney voters. Just 43% of Santorum voters and 36% of Gingrich supporters are locked in at this point,” Rasmussen said. “In 2008, during the final week leading up to the South Carolina primary, voters for less successful candidates peeled away from their first choice to vote for one of the two front-runners. In that race, it was the eventual nominee John McCain and the second place finisher Mike Huckabee.” [related]

“It’s important to note, too, that 66% of all likely Republican primary voters in South Carolina, regardless of whom they want to win, think Romney will ultimately win the party’s presidential nomination. Just 11% predict that Santorum will be the GOP nominee, while nine percent (9%) expect Gingrich to triumph. Forty-five percent (45%) say Romney would be the strongest Republican against President Obama versus 18% who feel that way about Gingrich and 16% who say that of Santorum,” the pollster noted.

Meanwhile, a new Time/CNN poll validates the bump Rasmussen shows Santorum getting. That poll has the race looking like this: Romney 37%, Santorum 19%, Gingrich 18%, Paul 12%, Perry 5%, Huntsman 1%.

According to Rasmussen, Santorum is the best liked of the candidates, with 72% favorables among likely primary voters in the state. Nearly as many (68%) share a favorable opinion of Romney, followed by Gingrich who is viewed favorably by 59%. Fifty percent (50%) like Perry, while 55% have an unfavorable opinion of Paul. Huntsman, too, is viewed more unfavorably than favorably, but 27% of primary voters don’t know enough about him to venture any kind of opinion.

“Santorum outpolls both Romney and Gingrich two-to-one among Tea Party voters. Romney holds a similar lead over his top two rivals among those who are not part of the movement,”  Rasmussen indicated. “Evangelical Christian voters prefer Santorum over Romney 33% to 17%. But Romney leads among other Protestants, Catholics and voters of other faiths with roughly one-third of the votes from each group.”

Even if their personal favorite comes up short in the primary process, just five percent (5%) of Republican primary voters in South Carolina are interested in a third party candidate. Eighty-four percent (84%) plan to stick with the Republican nominee even if their favorite loses the nomination, while six percent (6%) would vote for Obama. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of South Carolina GOP primary voters think it’s at least somewhat likely that their party’s candidate will win the White House in November, with 48% who say it’s Very Likely. Only nine percent (9%) of these voters even somewhat approve of the job Obama is doing as president.

This South Carolina survey of 750 Likely Republican Primary Voters was conducted on January 5, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.