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Republican candidates dig in for lengthy primary battle

This article is more than 12 years old
Newt Gingrich's surprise victory in South Carolina throws Mitt Romney's campaign into disarray
After his shock victory over frontrunner Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary, Newt Gingrich is interviewed on NBS's Meet the Press on Sunday Reuters

The Republican presidential candidates were gearing up for a gruelling and expensive battle for the party nomination on Sunday after Newt Gingrich's sensational victory in the South Carolina primary threw the race wide open.

As the candidates headed to Florida for the next contest on 31 January, Gingrich's team sent out an email to grassroots supporters calling for donations to counter rival Mitt Romney's massive spending power and deliver a "knockout punch".

Strapped for cash, Gingrich made a "moneybomb" appeal to supporters to contribute funds over the internet in the next 48 hours.

His campaign team, in spite of talk of a "knockout" in Florida, are anticipating what they describe as a war of attrition that will go on for months. The final contest is not until Utah on 26 June.

The South Carolina victory, which saw Gingrich take 40.4% of the vote compared with Romney's 27.8%, shook Romney's status as favourite to win the Republican nomination to take on Barack Obama for the White House in November. Romney has a 25 percentage-point lead over Gingrich in the latest poll in Florida but, such is the volatility of the race, that could easily evaporate.

Gingrich secured another triumph when Romney bowed to pressure to release details of his tax returns, one of the big issues of the South Carolina campaign. Romney, whose personal wealth is estimated at more than $200m (£130m), had repeatedly resisted attempts to release them.

His team fear the details will be used against him by his opponents, who will portray him as extremely rich and out of touch with the average American.

But in an interview with Fox News, Romney acknowledged that it had been a strategic blunder to let the issue drag on. "I think we made a mistake holding off as long as we did," he said. "It was a distraction. I want to get back to the real issues." He is to publish his tax returns for 2010 and 2011 online on Tuesday . In a preview, he said that, as a Mormon, he gives 10% of his earnings annually to charity.

If Romney had won South Carolina, he would have in effect sealed the nomination. Instead, he is going to have to fight hard to stop a surging Gingrich. "A lot of people face setbacks and you come back from them," Romney said.

His supporters were less sanguine, expressing deep disappointment, especially over the extent of Gingrich's win. Scott Barker, a Romney voter who turned up to the candidate's election night party in Columbia expecting to celebrate a victory, said: "I'm a little disappointed. It's really a shock to me that Newt Gingrich did so well. I really thought that Romney would squeak it out," he said.

Romney has already spent $7m in advertising and organisation in Florida and will spend heavily in the remaining days. Gingrich and the two others left in the race, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, have spent virtually nothing in the state.

To win the nomination, a candidate needs 1,114 delegates of the 2,226 who will attend the party convention in Tampa, Florida, in August. After three contests – Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina – Gingrich has 23, Romney 19, Santorum 13 and Paul three.

The Democrats, watching from the sidelines, welcome the prospect of a long and damaging Republican campaign. Obama, in a test run for his own campaign, is to put forward a range of proposals in his State of the Union address on Tuesday for economic recovery to help the working class rather than just the wealthy few, as he claims the Republicans do. He will follow this up with trips round the country, mainly to swing states.

South Carolina recorded a high turnout of about 600,000 on a day of heavy rain and a tornado warning. According to exit polls, two-thirds of voters cited Gingrich's two strong performances in televised debates in the state last week as an important reason for their support. The four candidates hold another debate in Tampa, Florida, on Monday and again in Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday, and Gingrich is hoping that the exposure will help offset Romney's expected ad blitz.

Romney had toyed with the idea of not participating in the Florida debates, a dangerous ploy that would have opened him up to charges of running scared. But he has confirmed that he will take part in both.

One of the reasons for Gingrich's popularity is a belief among the party grassroots that he would see off Obama in the three presidential debates in the autumn. These same Republicans have little confidence that Romney, a relatively charisma-free candidate, would do as well.

Gingrich, in his money-bomb appeal, played this up. "If you want to watch us run circles around Barack Obama in the debates with bold conservative ideas, then please make a donation today."Santorum, who won narrowly in Iowa, came a disappointing third in South Carolina, on 17%, but said he would fight on in Florida and beyond. He has almost no cash and, unlike Gingrich, has little reason to expect any to flow in for the Florida fight. It would suit Gingrich if Santorum was to drop out, allowing the conservative right to coalesce round Gingrich rather than splitting the vote.

Gingrich is helped by the decision of Texas Congressman Paul not to campaign aggressively in Florida. Paul estimates it would cost him $9m to campaign in Florida and said after the South Carolina vote that the money would be better spent in other states scheduled to vote in February.

Mitt and Newt: where they stand

Abortion

Gingrich supports federal ban or constitutional amendment banning abortion

Romney says the issue should be left to individual states

Economy

Gingrich says he would balance the budget within five years with deep spending cuts

Romney says he would cut corporate tax rates and focus on job growth

Health care

Gingrich would starve Obama's healthcare law of cash so it cannot be implemented

Romney would issue an order giving back authority for healthcare to states

Gay rights

Gingrich against gay marriage, but says same-sex couples should have legal protections

Romney opposes letting gay people marry, serve in the military or any government recognition of their relationships

National security

Gingrich says greatest danger is rise of radical Islam inside the US

Romney wants increase in US's already substantial military budget

Poverty

Gingrich proposes that children should be put to work to learn the work ethic

Romney says cash handouts to the poor trap them in poverty

More on this story

More on this story

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  • Newt Gingrich's South Carolina surge spells trouble for the Republican party

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  • South Carolina primary: Mitt Romney 'neck and neck' with Newt Gingrich

  • South Carolina: a good result for the pollsters

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  • South Carolina primary result: Republicans' verdict

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