Tagged: South Carolina Primary

South Carolinians are voting today in the GOP primary, which some pundits see as the candidates' last stand for getting the GOP nomination to run in the general election.

On weekends on All Things Considered today, host Guy Raz talked with Danielle Vinson, the chair of the political science department at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., about what is often considered "dirty" South Carolina primary politics.

Tommy's Country Ham House in Greenville, S.C., was jam packed this morning with voters wanting to catch some action between GOP presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, who were scheduled to show up for breakfast at the same time.

But Romney showed up a little early, just as polls indicate he's losing ground to Gingrich.

"We'd like to win here of course, but we've got a long way to go," he said, inviting supporters to come help him in Florida.

One woman shouted, "Thanks for paying for our breakfast!"

South Carolina voters have a pivotal role Saturday in narrowing the field of Republican presidential candidates.

But after that, South Carolina will get very little political attention. It's solidly Republican and simply not worth the time or money of Democratic presidential hopefuls.

North Carolina, on the other hand, could go either way, and the Obama campaign is already digging in. The Charlotte region straddles both states and leads a sort of "double life" in politics.

Too Far North