Pollster Scott Rasmussen has just released a new survey showing small gains for Newt Gingrich in South Carolina in the last week. In the new poll, Mitt Romney still leads the race with 28 percent, up from 27 percent in a Rasmussen poll a week ago, while Gingrich is in second place at 21 percent, up from 18 percent a week ago.
Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are tied at 16 percent, but each reached that point in different ways. Santorum is down eight points from the 24 percent he scored immediately after his near-win in the Iowa caucuses, while Paul is up five points from 11 percent in the last poll.
Rick Perry is at six percent, from five percent in the last poll, while Jon Huntsman is at five percent, up from two percent.
Romney’s seven-point lead over Gingrich is more substantial than a recent Insider Advantage poll, which showed the former speaker just two points behind Romney. In any event, Gingrich seems to be rebounding a bit in South Carolina. It’s unclear whether that is attributable to his attacks on Romney’s business record, his characterization of Romney as a “Massachusetts moderate,” or some other factor.
In a sign that the South Carolina race is still volatile, 41 percent of respondents told Rasmussen they might still change their minds, while eight percent remain undecided.
