The South Carolina Primary is a day away. Here are the 10 things you need to know.
- Romney falters in South Carolina debate: There’s no way around it — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had a horrible night in the last debate before Saturday’s South Carolina primary, flubbing multiple answers about his own personal wealth and essentially giving boiler plate answers to the rest of the questions. We have video of his rambling answer on whether he’d release his tax returns here (after which he was booed), and TPM’s Evan McMorris-Santoro was on the scene for Romney’s bad showing. He’s still very much in the race for the state, but with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich surging, this isn’t what Romney needed.
- Marianne Gingrich interview airs after South Carolina debate: Gingrich himself had a great night on the debate stage in Charleston, South Carolina last night. But an hour and and half later his second wife was on national news telling Americans about his past infidelities, in an interview with ABC’s Brian Ross. If Newt himself made a good case for himself on the stage Thursday night, his wife made the opposite one about the former Speaker’s political baggage: he said that he proposed having an open marriage and cheated on her in their bedroom. We’ll see in 24 hours which version made the biggest mark in the Palmetto State.
- Romney enlists help from Congressional endorsers: Gingrich’s rival in South Carolina, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gets the help of three rising conservative stars in Congress. Congressmen Jeff Flake, Jason Chaffetz, and John Campbell will hold a press conference call “to discuss Speaker Newt Gingrich’s record as an unreliable leader.” It’s worth noting that none of these House Members were actually in Congress when Newt was Speaker, though.
- McConnell says the Senate should shelve the Senate version of SOPA: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday that the Senate should take a breath on their version of the Stop Online Piracy Act, proposed legislation that is strongly opposed by numerous popular websites, like Reddit and Wikipedia. “While we must combat the on-line theft of intellectual property, current proposals in Congress raise serious legal, policy and operational concerns,” McConnell said in a statement. ” Rather than prematurely bringing the Protect IP Act to the Senate floor, we should first study and resolve the serious issues with this legislation.”
- New South Carolina numbers from PPP: New Public Policy Polling (D) numbers from a third night of tracking the race in South Carolina out late Friday night or Saturday morning. Gingrich has maintained a six point lead in the first two days of the PPP survey, surging on the strength of his debate performances in the state. The numbers also may show what if any effect the Marianne Gingrich interview will have on the race.
- Cain to give Tea Party response to State Of The Union: Former Presidential candidate Herman Cain gave a predictably bizarre endorsement of “the people” in the 2012 race yesterday, but Tuesday night figures to be a bit better — Cain will deliver the State of the Union response for the Tea Party Express PAC at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. “Whether it is a flat tax, a fair tax or a combination of the two, reforming the tax code must be a priority. Americans want straight talk and honest solutions, and Herman Cain will deliver a pro-growth message strongly and clearly,” said Sal Russo, Chief Strategist of the Tea Party Express.
- Obama raises money at the Apollo Theater: While his potential 2012 rivals were in South Carolina, President Obama did a bit of campaigning last night in New York, holding a fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in New York. In his speech, the President briefly broke into song, serenading the crowd with Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” something he hopes to do with his Democratic coalition of voters this fall.
- DCCC launches MittsBigSecret.com: The campaign arm of the House Democrats is also piling on Mitt Romney over his tax returns, setting up a website called MittsBigSecret.com which houses an online petition where voters can sign up to urge Romney to release his returns. The DCCC has set an initial goal of recruiting 100,000 voters for the effort. “Wonder why Presidential candidate Mitt Romney won’t follow decades of historical precedent and release his tax returns? So do we,” the DCCC petition reads. “It might be because Romney likely pays a lower tax rate than middle class families.” .
- Romney closing out SC: Mitt Romney will make his final argument to GOP voters in South Carolina with a rally at the Charleston Convention Center and a “get out of the vote” event in Greenville, SC.
- Gingrich to speak to the Southern GOP Leadership Conference: Gingrich will also be spending the day crisscrossing the state, starting with a speech to the South Republican Leadership Conference, happening this week in Charleston. He’ll continue with a few town hall meetings outside the city and will even have a book signing back in North Charleston.
