Game on: Gingrich takes South Carolina

“It’s not that I am a good debater. It’s that I articulate the deepest-felt values of the American people,” Gingrich told a jubilant ballroom full of family and supporters. “With your help, we are now moving on to Florida and beyond.”

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who was belatedly crowned the winner of the Iowa caucuses, finished third. He vowed to continue on to Florida.

And Texas Rep. Ron Paul, whose deeply loyal following among the libertarian minded helped sustain him near the top in two previous nominating contests, was running last but vowed to keep his campaign alive. (See the full primary election results)

Each of the first three nominating contests crowned a different winner – Iowa picked Santorum, New Hampshire picked Romney and South Carolina went for Gingrich – leaving the GOP race a toss-up heading into Florida. In South Carolina, exit polls showed that many voters didn’t decide on a candidate until the last minute, further underscoring how conflicted Republicans are this year over a frontrunner they don’t think is conservative enough.

Romney immediately sharpened his attacks on Gingrich, hoping to blunt the bounce Gingrich is likely to enjoy heading into Florida.

“Our party can’t be led into victory by somebody who hasn’t run a business and hasn’t run a state,” Romney said shortly after the polls closed. He accused Gingrich of carrying on an “assault on free-enterprise” with his criticisms of Romney’s business past.

“Those who pick up the weapons of the left today will find them turned against us tomorrow,” Romney told supporters.

Gingrich has been pummeling Romney over his tenure at Bain Capital, a venture capital firm that bought and sold corporations at a profit, eliminating some jobs even as it created others.

Gingrich turned the race on its head Saturday with an apparent victory that at a minimum slows Romney’s steady march to the nomination.

The former House Speaker and congressman from neighboring Georgia arrived in South Carolina a week earlier trailing Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who was fresh off a victory in New Hampshire. Gingrich closed that gap with two powerful debate performances and his red-meat, media-bashing defense against an ex-wife’s accusations that he had wanted to live in an open-marriage.

“I’m not crazy about those personal issues,” said Betty Young, of Lexington, who cast her vote for Gingrich despite a daylong torrential downpour. “He showed me that he had that fire in the belly — that he was the best situated to take it to President Obama.”

Romney, long viewed as the most electable Republican candidate, struggled to connect with economically anxious voters living with nearly 10 percent statewide unemployment. Indeed, Romney seemed only to distance himself from average voters with several blunders regarding his wealth and the relatively low tax rate he paid.

“Romney, I just don’t know,” said Richard Wallace, a construction worker from Greenville, who opted for Gingrich. “Something about him just isn’t right. I feel like he’s trying to sell me something rather than show me who he really is.”

Early returns showed Gingrich with a strong showing in upstate South Carolina, a conservative bastion of evangelical support that provided a firewall against the coastal area that favored Romney.

Santorum, backed by a consortium of 100 conservative leaders, was hoping the heavily evangelical Palmetto State would inject new life into his campaign, which has faltered since his surprising victory in the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3. Despite growing pressure to leave the race, Santorum vowed to continue his campaign into the new Ground Zero of the 2012 campaign: Florida.

But Florida favors Romney, whose financial advantage is paramount in a primary that requires expensive media buys and an organizational prowess that Gingrich has yet to develop.