Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, has reportedly won the South Carolina primary election.
The latest election results show Mr. Gingrich winning the election on Saturday in a stunning comeback for the Georgia Republican who lost the first two contests for the Republican presidential nomination, according to Fox News and MSNBC.
ABC News, Fox News and MSNBC all projected Mr. Gingrich would defeat Mitt Romney and far outdistance Rick Santorum and Ron Paul.
The latest election results show Mr. Gingrich leading Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, leading by 9 points, drawing 38 percent to Mr. Romney’s 29 percent, followed by Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania U.S. senator, with 17 percent and Texas Congressman Ron Paul with 15 percent.
The exit polls show Mr. Gingrich with 38 percent of the vote to Mr. Romney’s 29 percent. Mr. Santorum has pulled out a surprise third place victory in the exit polls with 17 percent. Mr. Paul trails in last place at 15 percent.
The latest South Carolina election results show Mr. Gingrich and Romney in a tight race. Mr. Romney is leading Mr. Gingrich with less than 1 percent of the vote, however, exit polls indicated Mr. Gingrich leading Mr. Romney. With less than 1 percent of election results reported, the Republican pair were within a hundred votes of one another.
“According to the exit polling at 4 o’clock, according to the Associated Press, we’re winning,” said Mr. Gingrich. “Of course you never know with polls. The polls that count are the people who go out in the rain and vote.”
Mr. Gingrich’s projected win means the Republican battle has now had a different first-place finisher in the three nominating contests as the race heads to Florida for a January 31 primary. Since South Carolina began its Republican primary in 1980, each of its winners has gone on to win the Republican nomination.
