“The race for the Republican nomination is wide open—and is a marathon, not a sprint.”
South Carolina Primary Results:
Newt Gingrich 243,153 40.4%
Mitt Romney 167,279 27.8%
Rick Santorum 102,055 17%
Ron Paul 77,993 13%
Rick Perry 2,494 0.4%
Other 8,192 1.4%
According to a statement from the Ron Paul campaign, Paul more than quadrupled his numbers from 2008 from 15,773 to 77,993. Also, “After tonight, only 37 delegates, or 1.6 percent of total delegates, have been awarded. The race for the Republican nomination is a marathon—not a sprint—and our campaign has in place a comprehensive plan to secure 1,144 delegates and win the nomination.”
According to other sources, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum did not qualify for enough state-ballots in order to win the necessary amount of delegates needed. Only Ron Paul and Mitt Romney have the staying power to try and win and it very well could come to a showdown at the GOP convention.