Mitt Romney Gets Major Lead In South Carolina

With less than a week away from when the voters go to the ballot in the South Carolina Primary, Mitt Romney has opened up a big lead in the Palmetto state:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has opened a wide lead over his rivals in the South Carolina primary election race, trouncing Newt Gingrich and gaining momentum in his march toward the party's nomination, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, could all but quash his rivals' presidential aspirations with a victory in South Carolina on Jan. 21 after winning the first state-by-state nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.Voters in South Carolina - who have favored Republicans in nine of the last 10 presidential elections - appear to have shrugged off attacks on Romney by rivals who accuse him of killing jobs as a private equity executive for Bain Capital in the 1990s.

The poll showed 37 percent of South Carolina Republican voters back Romney. Congressman Ron Paul and former Senator Rick Santorum tied for second place with 16 percent support.

One reason why Mitt Romney is gaining ground in South Carolina is because Evangelicals want a candidate who can defeat Obama in the general election. As a result, Evangelicals overwhelmingly support Mitt Romney: 

A Pew Research Center survey in November found that in a general election matchup, white evangelical GOP voters favor Romney over the president by a 91 percent to 6 percent margin. White evangelicals actually favored Romney over Mr. Obama by a wider margin that GOP voters overall.

The survey did show concerns among evangelicals about Romney's Mormon faith, but they are unlikely to have a serious impact in the general election. And any negative impact from less enthusiasm among the base will be blunted by the overwhelming urge that Republicans have to unseat Mr. Obama. The latest CBS News poll found that 86 percent of Republicans disapprove of the president's performance; the poll also showed that 41 percent of Republicans say they are more enthusiastic than in past elections, compared to 21 percent of Democrats and independents. There's no question that opposition to the president will be enough to motivate many Republicans no matter who ends up as their candidate. 

People of all political stripes want Obama out of office. That is why Mitt Romney is getting a lot of support from Reagan Democrats, Independents, moderates and conservatives. Its also why he's getting strong support from people of all faiths such as Jews, Evangelicals, and Christians. Its is also not surprising that Romney is getting a lot of support from people of all economic backgrounds ranging from college students to wealthy businessmen. 

In short, Mit Romney is America's candidate who will probably win in South Carolina, go on to secure the Republican nomination and unseat Obama in the general election. This is the man everyone wants to vote for.