A Look at the Third Most Important State Right Now: South Carolina

Newt Gingrich is a Republican John Edwards.

I'm Winning Our Future, right now.

Normally the South Carolina primary is a safety precaution to protect leading candidates from popularity surges of candidates who had stronger showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. Normally the winner of the South Carolina primary goes on to win the nomination, but will that be true for Gingrich like it was for Reagan or George W.?

Gingrich took all 23 delegates in South Carolina after finishing. fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire. 

The race has now become Establishment v Insurgent, with Gingrich acting the insurgent (establishment). He hopes that he and Winning Our Future will be able to secure his spot in the White House.

The real question is whether or not more than half the country wants the future to be won by Newt Gingrich instead of Barack Obama.

Though backed by Donald Trump and a tried and true stalwart of the Republican party, it was long believed that his campaign was dead and he would, in fact, not be receiving the nod as the Republican party’s 2012 presidential candidate.  

However, after receiving 40.5% of the vote in South Carolina, busting the assumed nomination of Mitt Romney who received just under 28%.

Though the race is heating up, it will be important to keep this victory in perspective. After explosive debate performances and Gingrich’s Super PAC, Winning Our Future, dumping money into the battleground state, he came out ahead and this should be no surprise. He was everywhere and campaigning effectively, starkly contrasting his opponent Romney.

While important, the South Carolina primary is not the best way to judge if a candidate has the momentum and charisma to take the Presidency. John Edwards won in 2004 election after coming in second in Iowa and fourth in New Hampshire.

John Edwards also had infidelity issues and often was perceived as a pretty bad guy by most standards, but yet he remained fairly successful and went on to receive a nomination to be John Kerry’s vice president.

Who knows, maybe instead of a run for the top spot, Gingrich will settle to assist. It seems unlikely, but this situation certainly feels familiar.

See you in Florida, Newt Gingrich.