Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is fighting tooth and nail with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum for a top-tier finish in South Carolina. A Monmouth University poll of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters found Mr. Paul tied with Mr. Santorum for third place in the Palmetto State Tuesday.
Mr. Santorum leads Mr. Paul by 2 percentage points in South Carolina. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney nabbed first place with 33 percent of the votes. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is trying to jump start his campaign before the South Carolina Republican primary, earned second place with 22 percent of the votes.
Mr. Paul and Mr. Santorum participated in the Fox News debate in South Carolina Monday night. As Mr. Paul and Mr. Santorum battle for a top-tier finish in South Carolina, their attacks have been aimed at each other as well as Mr. Romney.
When asked about slamming Mr. Santorum in attacks ads, Mr. Paul said he did not regret the decision to turn negative on the former senator. “There was one ad that we used against Senator Santorum, and I was only — I only had one problem, is I couldn’t get all the things in I wanted to say in one minute,” Mr. Paul said at the South Carolina debate.
Mr. Paul and Mr. Santorum also tied for a third place finish in an Insider Advantage poll released Monday. While the latest polls out of South Carolina reveal that Mr. Romney will be nearly impossible to overcome in the Palmetto State, the second and third place trophies are still important in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Monmouth University interviewed 963 likely voters in the South Carolina Republican primary. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent among Republicans.
