Michael Barone at the Washington Examiner gives the heads-up that today’s new Rasmussen poll will show Newt Gingrich pulling into the lead in South Carolina:
Gingrich – 33
Romney – 31
Paul – 15
Santorum – 11
Perry – 2
Other – 1
The poll has 6 percent of voters undecided. Barone notes Rasmussen had Romney ahead 35-21 before Monday’s debate.
This, of course, would not account for the effect of Rick Perry dropping out of the campaign and endorsing Gingrich, which could do more than just toss Perry’s 2 percent into the Gingrich column. Also, there’s another debate tonight, and that’s where Gingrich shines.
Also tonight, ABC News will finally broadcast an interview with someone who knew Barack Obama before 2006, and we’ll finally have some answers about his mysterious past, which the media has studiously avoided investigating for the past five years.
Just kidding! They’re digging up Newt Gingrich’s ex-wife and giving her a high-profile spotlight to repeat all the things everybody already knows about her marriage to the ex-Speaker. We shall see if Rick Perry’s endorsement, which included remarks about the “power of redemption,” blunts the impact of ABC’s fervent commitment to rerunning old news. Hopefully Bill Clinton will be watching, and enjoying a little chuckle as he remembers how his old relationships were treated by the massed ranks of the mainstream press.
Update: Official Rasmussen press release here. The poll was of likely voters, conducted yesterday, January 18. Rasmussen notes Gingrich was fourteen points behind Romney just two days previously, before that last debate.
