The Public Polling Policy poll of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters released Thursday shows former House Speaker Newt Gingrich taking the lead from former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the Palmetto state.
Mr. Gingrich finished the poll garnering 34 percent of the votes, ahead of Mr. Romney who finished with 28 percent. Texas congressman Ron Paul finished in third place with 15 percent just slightly ahead of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum who finished with 14 percent of the votes.
PPP pollsters believe the new poll is not the result of Mr. Romney’s campaign “imploding,” but rather a sign that Mr. Gingrich’s performance in the debate moderated by Fox News on Monday greatly helped his support in South Carolina.
“Newt Gingrich has all the momentum in South Carolina right now,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling in a pres release Thursday. “The big question now is whether ABC’s interview with his ex-wife will stop it.”
Mr. Debnam is referring to an interview with Mr. Gingrich’s second wife Marianne Gingrich that is likely to air on “Nightline” on ABC News Thursday, The Associated Press reports.
The poll included an option for voters to select Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert as well. Mr. Colbert finished the poll garnering 8 percent of the votes, in fifth place.
Texas Governor Rick Perry finished the PPP poll with 5 percent of the votes. Mr. Perry announced Thursday morning that he would be suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing Mr. Gingrich, two days prior to the South Carolina Republican primary election.
It will be interesting to see how these new poll numbers, and the removal of Mr. Perry and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman will influence voters in South Carolina as they prepare to cast their votes on Saturday.
Over the last week, Mr. Gingrich has consistently attacked Mr. Romney regarding his past record at Bain Capital and has also recently urged him to release his tax returns.
The PPP pollsters will release two more polls ahead of Saturday’s primary election.
The Thursday poll was conducted among 379 likely South Carolina Republican primary voters on January 18th with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
