Rivals say split conservative vote aids Romney

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- A splintered conservative vote in the crucial primary state of South Carolina could pave the way for another win by front-runner Mitt Romney, some rivals said Sunday, acknowledging an outcome that prominent state lawmakers suggested could end the race to challenge President Barack Obama. Polls show Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who struggled to a fourth-place finish in South Carolina during his 2008 White House run, with a lead heading into Saturday's vote. The state has a large population of evangelicals and other conservative Christians, and concerns arose four years ago about his Mormon faith. But Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry all said Romney, after victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, continued to benefit from the fractured Republican field and the failure of social conservatives to fully coalesce around a single alternative. That has put Romney in control of the nomination fight, despite a lack of support from conservatives who are put off by Romney's shifting stances on social issues like abortion. "I think the only way that a Massachusetts moderate can get through South Carolina is if the vote is split," said Newt Gingrich, portraying himself as the lone conservative with a "realistic chance" of beating Romney in the first-in-the South contest. Gingrich said he would "reassess" his candidacy if he lost in South Carolina and acknowledged that a Romney victory would mean "an enormous advantage going forward." "If for some reason he's not derailed here and Mitt Romney wins South Carolina ... I think it should be over," said the state's senior senator, Republican Lindsey Graham. He added, "I'd hope the party would rally around him if he did in fact win South Carolina." Santorum said South Carolina is "not going to be the final issue" and spoke of the "need to get this eventually down to a conservative alternative" to Romney. The former Pennsylvania senator who won the endorsement of an influential group of social conservatives and evangelical leaders Saturday in Texas. The candidates faced a packed week of campaign events and nationally televised debates Monday and Thursday. No Republican has won the party's presidential nomination without carrying South Carolina. Santorum battled Romney to a virtual tie in Iowa before falling to fifth place in New Hampshire. Gingrich and Perry fared poorly in both states. All three have the backing of well-financed independent groups known as super political action committee that can help keep their candidacies afloat. Santorum refused to suggest anyone should drop out of the race as a way to consolidate conservative support behind an anti-Romney candidate. But he said Republicans would have a hard time beating Obama in November if Romney were the nominee. Santorum cited Romney's push for mandatory insurance coverage in Massachusetts, a model for Obama's health care reform program. Gingrich and Perry used television interviews to focus on Romney's former leadership of the Bain Capital private equity firm. Both defended raising questions about Bain's business practices, saying Romney's tenure would come under relentless assault from Democrats in the general election. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman picked up the endorsement of The State, one of South Carolina's leading newspapers. Huntsman came in a weak third in New Hampshire after skipping Iowa, but the paper described him as a "realist" able to appeal to the centrist voters who will decide the general election. Published: Tue, Jan 17, 2012