Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is “cautiously optimistic” about how he will finish in the South Carolina Republican primary election Saturday. Mr. Romney attempted to downplay expectations of him winning the Palmetto state during a news conference Friday, Time reports.
The former Massachusetts governor was the likely favorite to win the South Carolina Republican primary election last week, when polls showed him holding a slight lead over rival candidate Newt Gingrich following his win in New Hampshire. However, Mr. Gingrich gained some last minute momentum this week with a series of endorsements and a two stellar performances in nationally televised presidential debates.
Utah Governor Jon Huntsman dropped out of the race on Monday, announcing his endorsement of Mr. Romney as he exited South Carolina with a press conference Monday. That same night though, Mr. Gingrich received a standing ovation from the crowd in Myrtle Beach for the presidential debate there moderated by Fox News.
The next three days featured back and forth criticisms from Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney over the Bain Capital co-founder’s refusal to release his tax returns, as he told reporters he pays a tax rate of “probably 15 percent.”
Texas Governor Rick Perry surprisingly dropped out of the race on Thursday and endorsed Mr. Romney’s chief rival Mr. Gingrich. In a day that almost mirrored the events of Monday, that night in a presidential debate moderated by CNN, Mr. Gingrich again received a standing ovation from the crowd watching the debate in Charleston.
On Friday, Virginia Republican Governor Bob McDonnell endorsed Mr. Romney, but as polls released Friday and Saturday indicate, that did little to boost his support in South Carolina. Mr. Romney’s campaign appearances Friday featured much smaller crowds than those at Mr. Gingrich’s events Friday. Mr. Romney addressed the turnaround of events this week that lead to his decline in South Carolina, during a press conference Friday.
“I sure would like to win South Carolina,” said Mr. Romney Friday. “But I know that if those polls were right, regardless of who gets the final number, we’re both going to get a lot of delegates. I want the most delegates coming out of South Carolina, but I don’t know what the numbers will be. I’m pretty confident, cautiously optimistic.”
Other factors that lead to Mr. Romney’s decline in South Carolina were the certified results of the Iowa caucus voting released Thursday by the Iowa Republican Party that showed rival candidate Rick Santorum the official winner of Iowa.
A Clemson University poll of likely South Carolina voters released Saturday indicates Mr. Gingrich garnering 32 percent of the votes with Mr. Romney trailing at 26 percent.
The former Massachusetts governor was facing a regional disadvantage heading into South Carolina, the first primary election in the south where Mr. Gingrich was a Georgia congressman for 20 years between the 1970s and 1990s.
Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich almost came face to face the day of the primary election in South Carolina, as both candidates had a scheduled appearance at Tommy’s Ham House in Greenville, South Carolina Saturday at 10:45 a.m., The Hill reports. Mr. Romney showed up 45 minutes early though and left before Mr. Gingrich arrived.
During his appearance there Mr. Gingrich joked about his rival’s regional disadvantage there, telling the crowd “I don’t think they serve New England clam chowder here.”
Although Mr. Gingrich is expected to win the South Carolina Republican primary election, there is no telling what the result will be as Mr. Romney remains “cautiously optimistic” right up until the very last vote is tallied.
