Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida polls

CNN released a batch of four polls today at 4 PM Eastern:

Iowa: Newt 33, Romney 20.

New Hampshire: Romney 35, Gingrich 26.

South Carolina: Newt 43, Romney 20.

Florida: Newt 48, Romney 25.

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In Iowa, Newt gets 35% support from women and 32% from men.

Newt's attention to detail on South Carolina issues

Robert Costa wrote in National Review:

Watching the crowds, one saw that Gingrich’s substance on regional issues was crucial to his success. During stops in Charleston and Bluffton, for example, Gingrich’s command on seaport policy, an arcane topic within the Beltway, was largely ignored by campaign reporters. But South Carolina Republicans noticed.

The whole article is well worth reading.

And Tony Lee of Human Events tweeted:
You can tell Newt has LISTENED a lot to many conservative communities. He is speaking to visceral concerns many conservatives have.

South Carolina

The town hall Monday night was, according to a Charleston paper, "the biggest local event so far in the 2012 election cycle."

Tuesday saw another office open, this one in Bluffton. About 200 people attended the opening. 1000 were at a an outside town hall in Old Town Bluffton. Another 500 attended an evening event at Newberry Opera House.

James Epley, who is the campaign's volunteer chairman in Beauford County, told the Washington Post: “I’ve been with him here all over the state. Everywhere we go, even with people leaning to another candidate, he wins them over.”

"Gingrich, according to voters Patch talked to in recent days, is winning support by pushing many conservative causes, questioning assumptions and sending a positive message that includes hope for the country," writes Lindsay Street.

"Newt Gingrich’s harsh rhetoric against President Obama, mischievous nature, and fervent embrace of Americanism and American exceptionalism fit South Carolina’s political climate to a tee," wrote Tony Lee of Human Events.

South Carolina poll: Newt 38, Romney 15, Cain 13

Among men, Newt is at 39%; he gets 36% support from women.

It's another poll from InsiderAdvantage.

Terrific polling news!

None of these polls have been fully released, so more details to come:

Iowa:

InsiderAdvantage also reporting brand new poll in Iowa tonight. Shows Gingrich on top with 28, Ron Paul is closest to him with 13. (link)

New Hampshire:

New InsiderAdvantage poll to be released tomorrow shows Romney and Gingrich in a statistical dead heat in New Hampshire. (link)

South Carolina:

New InsiderAdvantage poll from SC tonight! Gingrich 38, Romney 15, Cain 13, Paul 7, Perry 4, Bachman 3, Santorum 2, Someone else 5, undec 13 (link)

Florida:

Newt with big lead on 1st night of our FL poll...he and Romney may be only ones over 10% and he's uniting anti-Mitt vote (link)

Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. endorses Newt

From Peter Hamby of CNN:

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich picked up the endorsement of former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer on Monday, giving him his most prominent surrogate to date in a state that Gingrich's campaign has billed as its "southern firewall."

"Speaker Newt Gingrich offers the best and most comprehensive plan to get America moving forward and that is why today I am announcing my full support for Speaker Gingrich ... a true conservative, a true patriot, and true leader," Bauer said in a statement.

Newt 2012's ground game

"[Gingrich] has also started to put together a campaign organization in New Hampshire. He brought on respected tea party leader Andrew Hemingway and his team has been contacting almost 1,000 voters each day," writes the AP.

The New York Times: [Gingrich's] hiring of staff members in South Carolina [nine] and New Hampshire [six] is helping to lead one of the largest grass-roots efforts of any candidate." Newt 2012's South Carolina operation is the largest of any candidate running, notes CNN.

South Carolina poll: Newt leads Cain, 31-17%

Link to a story about the poll.

The poll, combined with the fact that Newt has the biggest campaign operation in the Palmetto State, would seem to back up the idea that South Carolina is Newt's firewall.

A Letter to the Editor about Newt Gingrich

The Charleston Tea Party published this letter on their website.

An excerpt:

They will do whatever it takes to destroy Newt Gingrich because Barack Obama can't stand up to Mr. Gingrich's "Vision for America" or his brain. But for me personally, Mr. Gingrich recognizes Israel's importance as America's greatest ally in a region where most people there just don't like us. As an added benefit, we won't have to worry about the NLRB or any more apologies coming from our President.

(Video) Newt slams Obama's lawsuit against South Carolina

Link to video. (1:15)

(Video) Newt in South Carolina this past weekend

Here are some videos shot by a person attending Newt's event at Furman University Saturday:

Link to video.



Link to a video on Social Security.



Immigration video.



Video on Lincoln-Douglas debates.



What a general election between Newt and Obama would look like.

"[A] lot of [South Carolina] Tea Party folks are migrating towards Newt."

From FoxNews.com:

The Republican presidential primary race is still fluid in the Palmetto State, but some in the grassroots are starting to get their hearts set on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Lin Bennett, chairwoman of the Charleston Republican Party, hasn't decided which candidate she'll support but observes, "a lot of state Tea Party folks are migrating towards Newt."

"That just tells me a lot of vetting is beginning to happen," says Bennett, pointing to the Tea Party activists' reputation for being tough and thorough judges of politicians' conservative records before deciding whom to back and whom to oppose.

A hundred miles north on the South Carolina coastline, a similar sentiment seems to be forming. Gingrich won an unusual straw poll held at the Rotelli's pizza and pasta restaurant in Myrtle Beach where an estimated 85 to 100 top local Republicans gathered to watch the CNBC debate Wednesday. Their opinion of who won the debate, as counted by an informal paper ballot, broke down as follows:

Newt 57%

Cain 25%

Romney 16%

Paul 2%

Bachmann, Huntsman, Perry, Santorum 0%

Participating in the straw poll were members of the Horry County Republican Party, Carolina Forest Republican Club, South Strand Republican Club, Northern Horry Republican Club, the Myrtle Beach Tea Party and Carolina Patriots - a combination of both establishment and grassroots conservatives. A second question on the ballot - who is your choice for the Republican candidate - produced the following result:

Newt 52%

Cain 36%

Paul 11%

Santorum 2%

Pictures from Newt in South Carolina on Saturday, including the opening of the HQ

Newt 2012's South Carolina State Director, Adam Waldeck, sent out two pictures of Newt talking with Furman University Students:

Link to picture.

Link to picture.

And then two of the crowd in Greenville for the opening of the South Carolina headquarters:

Link.

Picture.

WOW! Five great polls -- three national, one Iowa, one South Carolina

With all the great news Friday, it might have been the best day of the campaign so far.

A CBS national poll:

Cain: 18%
Gingrich: 15%
Romney: 15%

The poll finds Gingrich leading among those who consider themselves in the tea party movement: Newt got the support of 21%, Cain is at 19%, and Romney at 11%.

In the case of an international crisis, 31% say Newt would handle it the best. 19% say the same of Romney and 8% say it of Cain.

A McClatchy/Marist poll, also nationwide:

Romney: 23%
Gingrich: 19%
Cain: 17%

That McClatchy poll finds that Newt's supporters are the most committed to their candidate -- 43% are strongly with Newt, 31% are the same with Cain, and 30% are firmly in Romney's camp.

Newt leads among tea party members, 28-22% over Cain.

It also finds that for voters who value experience as their number one factor in voting, Newt gets the most support. And for those who value electability over everything else, Newt comes in second, behind Mitt Romney, but far ahead of everyone else.

YouGov/Economist:

Romney: 24%
Cain: 21%
Gingrich: 16%

A South Carolina poll:

Cain: 25.6%
Gingrich: 18.9%
Romney: 16.1%

Newt is campaigning in South Carolina tomorrow, including unveiling the campaign headquarters in Greenville.
An Iowa poll:

Cain: 23.3%
Romney: 18.7%
Gingrich: 14.5%

I'll have more on it tomorrow, but from now through when Iowa votes on January 3rd -- which is about 53 days --Newt will be in the Hawkeye State 30 of them.

Newt's South Carolina team is announced

(Update: CNN reports that Newt's South Carolina operation is the biggest of any campaign to date.)

Greenville, SC - Joining two long term advisors who recently moved to South Carolina to direct Newt 2012's First in the South primary bid -- Adam Waldeck as State Director and Vince Haley as Policy Director - the campaign has expanded its paid staff to include several veteran activists and tea party leaders.

Adam has worked as the campaign's Coalitions Director and has deep ties into the tea party movement and conservative groups. Haley has been Director of Policy for American Solutions and a Research Director for Gingrich at the American Enterprise Institute.

Assisting in the statewide effort are Ruth Sherlock and Leslie Gaines of Sherlock and Gaines Consulting Group of Greenville. Gaines and Sherlock bring many years of experience in planning, organizing and scheduling in the political arena. Sherlock worked across the country for the Republican National Committee but is best known for helping elect the first Vietnamese American to the U.S. House in 2008. Gaines is well respected in South Carolina for her fundraising success for several presidential and winning statewide candidates and numerous non-profit organizations.

The statewide team will include Regional Directors: Joshua Putnam, the youngest state representative currently serving in South Carolina’s legislature who will lead the Upstate; DeLinda Ridings, a well known political operative will represent the Midlands; noted Myrtle Beach tea party leader Gerri McDaniel has also joined the team to help organize grassroots efforts in the Pee Dee region. Chris Horne, another Tea Party veteran, preacher and internet marketing expert will lead the effort in Charleston. Also hailing from the Charleston area is Joanne Jones, Vice Chairman of the Charleston Tea Party, who will organize coalitions for the campaign.

The Newt 2012 statewide headquarters will be located at 700 Woodruff Road, Suite 6 in Greenville. The official opening will be on Saturday, November 12, 2011.

From Ali Weinberg of NBC News:

Among the nine members of the Newt Gingrich South Carolina team (who were officially named on Monday) is a former member of Team Huntsman.

Grassroots organizer DeLinda Ridings was, until last week, the Huntsman campaign's Midlands field director.

...

Ridings is also the secretary of the South Carolina Republican Party.

The Gingrich campaign also signed on state Rep. Josh Putnam as his Upstate field director. At 22, Putnam is the youngest lawmaker in the South Carolina statehouse, having won a special election here in August 2011.

Some details on Newt's campaign in South Carolina

Sources close to Gingrich’s South Carolina campaign tell FITS that several new staff announcements are “imminent” – and may include “prominent members” of other 2012 campaigns.

...

More recently, Gingrich’s South Carolina efforts have been led by Leslie Roper Gaines, an Upstate, S.C. activist (and former Mitt Romney supporter) best known for her fundraising prowess.

The story was later updated:

UPDATE: Looks like one of the operatives Gingrich is hiring is Delinda Ridings, who has been serving as Midlands Field Director for the campaign of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.

UPDATE II: Statement from Hunstman’s state director Joel Sawyer: “As part of our campaign’s continued restructuring and refocusing of our resources, DeLinda was let go from her position earlier today. We wish her the best.”

(Video) Newt interviewed on Carolina This Week

Link to Newt.org.

Pictures from Newt's day in South Carolina

Last night, Newt spoke at an Aiken, South Carolina, Republican dinner. At least 600 people -- a sold-out crowd -- attended.

Ali Weinberg of NBC News live-tweeted the event. One of them she sent out:

Gingrich: I don't have any consultants on balancing budget. Don't have any talking points. I just have a decade of experience doing it.

This morning, Newt held another town hall in South Carolina.

The head of Newt's campaign in South Carolina, Adam Waldeck, sent out a few pictures:
Link.

"Newt: I have one opponent, and that is Barack Obama."

Link.

".@newtgingrich w/Joe Dugan and Gerri McDaniel from the Myrtle Beach Tea Party."

"Newt: We'll waive every single regulation that prevents us from having 100% control of the border by 1/1/2014."

"What a place for a townhall. Thanks to the Myrtle Beach Tea Party for putting together a great event."

The Florence GOP tweeted:

Great Job Team @FLORENCESCGOP ... Successful event for @newtgingrich this morning! #SCGOP #sctweets

A South Carolina reporter, John Sweeney:

"If you'd like to have paycheck rather than food stamps, vote for me," @newtgingrich says #florencesc

Elijah Jones tweeted: "@newtgingrich in #flosc at Bazen's Restaurant. Great Crowd!"

Zach Lamb posted this picture of him and Newt at the Myrtle Beach event:

David Risner:

Great listening to @newtgingrich in Myrtle Beach today!! I urge ALL my fellow Carolinians to take a HARD look at Newt #impressed

Here's a story in a local paper about Newt's stop in Florence.

Pictures from Newt's town hall in South Carolina today

Newt held a town hall in a Greenville, South Carolina, Chick-fil-A today.

Here are some pictures of the event at which Karen Tumulty, the national political correspondent for the Washington Post, said there were "[a]t least 400 people:

Newt 2012's South Carolina director, Adam Waldeck, tweeted "They've stopped letting people into the Chick-Fil-A in Greenville for @newtgingrich townhall" and sent this picture:

Andrew Bell of Newt's campaign posted this one:

Anna Haberlein of Gingrich Productions had this one:

Along with the picture, she tweeted:

Ever been 2 a chick fila that breaks fire code? That's what happens when @newtgingrich is in town!

The next four are from Tumulty:
Link.

Link.

Link.

Link.

When she sent that third picture, Tumulty tweeted:

Rapt crowd for @newtgingrich in greenville. place is too mobbed for me to see the candidate.

Here is a picture taken before the town hall:

The Washington Post just doesn't get it.

(Update: Since I first wrote this, Jo Ling Kent of NBC reports that Newt has hired three more New Hampshire staffers.)

Today, the Washington Post ran a story titled: "Newt Gingrich: He’s baaack!"

And Chris Cillizza proceeds to list some of the positives from the past few weeks -- the increased fundraising, the poll numbers -- but then he either shows his bias or his ignorance.

He claims Newt doesn't have much of an organization yet in the three early states, ignoring the recent hires in New Hampshire and South Carolina. And in Iowa, the organization is being set up as we speak.

Cillizza then claims that Newt's poll numbers in the early contest states aren't very good, citing the worst possible Iowa poll. He doesn't make any any mention of a recent poll that had Newt at 12% in the Hawkeye State, which was good for third place.

Something tells me Cillizza wouldn't cite the worst-looking poll for President Obama in a story about the latter's re-election chances.