Clemson Palmetto Poll finds Gingrich leading, 20% of S.C. voters still uncommitted
January 21, 2012
CLEMSON, SC – January 20, 2012 – With polls opening in less than 24hours for the important South Carolina presidential primary election,the final Palmetto Poll shows Newt Gingrich leading over Mitt Romney in agritty battle fraught with personal attacks and breaking news about thecandidates’ personal lives.
That’s the finding of the third Clemson University 2012 PalmettoPoll, a sample of 429 South Carolina GOP voters who indicated they planto vote Saturday. The telephone poll was initiated Jan. 13 andrecalibrated Jan. 18-19 to measure changing dynamics. Twenty percent ofthe likely voters remain undecided.
“We expect a reaction by the electorate to the personal revelationsabout Gingrich to be registered on Saturday, however, we do not think itwill be substantial enough to erase the lead Gingrich has over Romney,”said Clemson University political scientist Dave Woodard.
“Our head-to-head matchup of the candidates has consistently shownMitt Romney competitive. The margin for Romney has evaporated this week,and we believe that Gingrich — who led our December poll with 38 percent to Romney’s 21 percent — will win the South Carolina primary,” he said.
Among poll respondents who had chosen or were leaning toward acandidate, this third Palmetto Poll showed Newt Gingrich (32 percent)leading the field over Mitt Romney (26 percent), up slightly from amonth ago. Ron Paul came in third (11 percent), about even with hisDecember poll rating. Rick Santorum remained in fourth place (9percent), despite a significant jump over his ranking last month.
After choosing a candidate, respondents gave a wide variety ofanswers as to what they liked most about the person they selected, butthe two most popular appeared to be: “he has honesty and integrity” and“his overall political ideology” — meaning conservative principles.
“Much has been made of the ‘electability’ issue of the candidates,but in our poll the response: ‘He has the best chance of beatingPresident Barack Obama,’” was the fourth choice of voters, after “‘Hehas better ideas for strengthening the economy,’” said Clemson politicalscientist Bruce Ransom.
The Clemson University Palmetto Poll, sponsored by the Strom ThurmondInstitute, the College of Business and Behavioral Science and theDepartment of Public Affairs, had a plus or minus 4.73 percent margin oferror.
Image by: Clemson University
