Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich pulled off a convincing win in the South Carolina primary on Saturday. Gingrich received 40.4 percent of the votes, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney got 27.8 percent, as reported by the New York Times. The primary leaves some interesting takeaways to ponder, including factors that influenced Gingrich's victory.
* South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley endorsed Romney early, but it apparently didn't have an impact, for she's losing popularity, too, according to Politico.
* Even though the southern state suffered through heavy precipitation Saturday, The State reported around 600,000 voters turned out, which bested the turnouts for 2008 and 2000. In total, South Carolina has about 3 million registered voters.
* CNSNews.com reported a Public Policy Polling survey and it showed Gingrich had a 54 percent favorable rating among likely GOP primary voters compared to a 37 percent unfavorable rating. Gingrich's attacks on the media seem to jell with the voters there, too, for only 14 percent of these people favor the media, compared to 77 percent who don't.
* The Detroit Free Press cited McClatchy-Tribune's reporting that super PAC and GOP presidential hopefuls' ad spending in "The Palmetto State" totaled some $12 million.
* According to CBS News exit polling, 64 percent of voters said the debates (with Gingrich getting standing ovations the previous two spectacles), influenced their vote, as opposed to 34 percent who didn't, according to CBS News' Political Hotsheet.
* According to the New York Times, Romney only won three counties, including the counties where the cities of Charleston and Columbia are. Gingrich won all the other counties.
* FoxNews.com reported one notable state endorsement Gingrich got came from the Rev. Bill Monroe, a highly esteemed religious leader, which helped the former House speaker win the evangelical vote easily per Fox News exit polls.
* The Associated Press reported early Sunday that Gingrich will take at least 23 of the state's 25 delegates, while Romney is the only candidate who has any chance of getting the other two delegates. Final results are expected to take at least a week to be completed.
