Santorum Attack Mailer in SC Casts Romney as ‘The Moderate’
Steve Pope/Getty Images(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — Rick Santorum is keeping his promise to sharpen the contrast with Mitt Romney in a new mailer arriving in the homes of South Carolina voters with just days to go before Saturday’s primary.The mailer gree…
Sarah Palin: ‘I’d Vote for Newt’
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Just one week after her husband Todd Palin “went rogue” and endorsed Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Tuesday night she would vo…
Rick Santorum Says Newt Gingrich Can’t Bully Him to Quit Race
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(LEXINGTON, S.C.) — Rick Santorum says he is not ending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination anytime soon — not if he loses in South Carolina, and certainly not because Newt Gingrich wants him to.Vying to be …
Romney Reveals His Tax Rate is ‘Probably Closer to 15 Percent’
Joe Raedle/Getty Images(FLORENCE, S.C.) — Mitt Romney revealed for the first time Tuesday that his effective tax rate is “closer to 15 percent,” suggesting that he pays less in taxes than many middle income Americans despite being worth an…
Analysis: Romney Stumbles, Gingrich Shines at SC Debate
Charles Dharapa-Pool/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Monday night’s Republican presidential candidates debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., was not one of Mitt Romney’s stronger debate performances; he stumbled when confronted by Rick Santorum about…
SC Debate: Romney Says He Will ‘Probably’ Release Taxes in April
PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Amid continued pressure from his rivals to make public his tax returns, Mitt Romney said at a Republican presidential candidates debate Monday night that he will “probably” release that informati…
Perry Camp Explains Suggestion Turkey Is Led by ‘Islamic Terrorists’
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — In response to a question about whether or not Turkey should still be a part of NATO, Rick Perry suggested Monday night that some consider the country to be ruled by “Islamic terrorists.”&…
Perry Faces Backlash Over Daniel Pearl Comment at Debate
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Rick Perry drew criticism Monday night from at least one reporter on Twitter who took issue with the Texas governor’s use of the death of Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was beh…
Santorum Blasts Romney in New South Carolina Ad
Win McNamee/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Though he pledged earlier in the day to keep his campaign “above board,” and not go negative, Rick Santorum on Monday unveiled a bitingly critical new campaign ad that portrays rival Mitt Romn…
Appealing to Evangelicals, Romney Voices Support of Ministerial Exception
Ethan Miller/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Making an appeal to an evangelical crowd Monday afternoon, Mitt Romney accused President Obama of promoting a path that will lead to a more “secular nation,” citing for the first time a recen…
Santorum to Evangelicals: GOP Needs Nominee Who’ll ‘Take the Bullets’
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Just six days before South Carolina voters go to the polls, Rick Santorum addressed an evangelical conference Monday afternoon, trying to pitch himself to the crowd.At the Faith and Freedom Coalition …
Huntsman Quits: Why it Matters
ABC/Donna Svennevik(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — Jon Huntsman’s campaign was running on fumes, down in the polls and out of money. So does it matter that he is dropping out and endorsing Mitt Romney? Yes.A few points to consider:Huntsman’s depa…
Perry and Santorum Make Appeal to Social Conservatives
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Rick Perry and Rick Santorum, two of the Republican field’s social conservative heavyweights, made their pitches Sunday morning to a crowd of evangelical voters.When Perry entered the race in ea…
Perry and Santorum Make Appeal to Social Conservatives
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Rick Perry and Rick Santorum, two of the Republican field’s social conservative heavyweights, made their pitches Sunday morning to a crowd of evangelical voters.When Perry entered the race in ea…
SC Republicans Boo Newt Gingrich Over Romney Attacks
ABC News(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — At a forum hosted by Mike Huckabee with 800 undecided South Carolina Republicans, Newt Gingrich was loudly booed when he criticized Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital, according to a Republican who attended the clo…
Pro-Santorum Super PAC Releases New Ad in South Carolina
ABC News(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — The super PAC supporting Rick Santorum’s presidential bid is out with a new ad Friday, on the heels of its recently announced $600,000 ad buy in South Carolina before the state’s Jan. 21 primary.The 30-second ad …
Romney Defends Free Enterprise During S.C. Campaign Stop
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(AIKEN, S.C.) — At a rally in western South Carolina Friday, Romney defended free market principles, telling the group of 300 gathered in a university’s gymnasium that the answer to creating jobs is “not to wal…
Sen. Jim DeMint: Mitt Romney Should be More Empathetic
ABC News(NEW YORK) — Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who has yet to endorse a GOP presidential candidate, said Friday he thinks Mitt Romney needs to work on his empathy.
DeMint dismissed attacks that portray Romney as a greedy capitalist, calling them “political talk” but he told ABC News Romney needs to better explain layoffs that occurred while he ran Bain Capital and express empathy for those workers.
“I know I had to do it a few times in my career and I had sleepless nights and it killed me to do it but I was doing it to save the other employees in my company and keep it going,” DeMint said. “If he doesn’t explain this well he’s going to see this again if he’s the nominee in the general election.”
Romney has repeatedly said companies Bain invested in went on to create 100,000 jobs but his campaign has declined to say how many employees were laid off during that time.
Any political attack ad that targets Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain “really bothers” DeMint.
“Successful companies have leaders who are willing to make hard, difficult, unpopular decisions for the good of the company,” DeMint told ABC News Radio in an interview to promote his new book Now or Never: Saving America from Economic Collapse.
Sen. DeMint said he would not endorse a GOP candidate before Saturday’s primary in South Carolina, though he said he would not completely rule it out.
“The only way I could have been dragged into it is if we had two candidates and one was just completely on the wrong track and the other was moving in the conservative direction.”
DeMint said he has not talked to Romney in a while but emails frequently with him and with Ron Paul.
“I think he is in it to win or at least in it for the long haul.”
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Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC Buys South Carolina Airtime
ABC/Ida Mae Astute(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — Stephen Colbert is putting his money where his super PAC is.On his Comedy Central show Thursday night Colbert announced “an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork” for his “possible candida…
Stephen Colbert: A GOP Contender?
Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — TV host and comedian Stephen Colbert might be adding a new title to his already long resume: presidential candidate for the United States of America of South Carolina.“I am proud t…