In US Race, All Eyes on South Carolina

14 January 2012

Mitt Romney greets supporters at his primary night rally in Manchester, New Hampshire

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The race for the Republican presidential nomination moved this week to the southeastern United States. Florida, the state with the fourth largest population, will hold its Republican primary election on January thirty-first. But first comes the South Carolina primary next Saturday.

The results could show whether anyone has a serious chance to keep Mitt Romney from becoming the Republican candidate for president. Mr. Romney is the first Republican in more than thirty years to win both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary in a competitive race.

On Tuesday, he won nearly forty percent of the vote in New Hampshire. He owns a house there and was the governor of a neighboring state, Massachusetts. In his victory speech, he called on South Carolina voters to help make him the candidate to defeat President Obama.

MITT ROMNEY: "And tonight, we're asking the good people of South Carolina to join the citizens of New Hampshire and make two thousand twelve the year he runs out of time."

Mr. Romney has the support of South Carolina's governor, Nikki Haley. She is a favorite among supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul finished second in New Hampshire. That state's official motto is "Live free or die." He won support with his strong belief in individual freedoms and a pullback of American troops from around the world.