Gingrich Wins SC Primary

Newt Gingrich wins the South Carolina primary. The surprise is less that he won it than the margin of victory.

The double-digit win over Mitt Romney is shocking considering a short time ago Romney was favored. A strong debate performance by Gingrich on Thursday night certainly helped him.

Taking into account this result and that Santorum actually won Iowa by a couple dozen votes, the GOP has now had three primaries/caucuses with three different winners.

We can only imagine how things might have been different had Nevada kept its caucus between the primaries of New Hampshire and South Carolina. It is likely Romney would have won handily, as he did in 2008, and the momentum from that victory may have won him additional support in South Carolina. Add in the fact Santorum had stated his intention to boycott Nevada if it didn't move its caucus and the race would look far different today. Although Romney figures to clean up in the Silver State, the NRP's decision to move the caucus back may end up hurting his chances overall.

By the time the NV caucus rolls around, probably only Romney, Gingrich and Paul will be left.