U.S. Edition
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (CNN) – Six days before South Carolina's presidential primary, Ron Paul scored one of the most sought-after political blessings in the state.
On Sunday, state Sen. Tom Davis endorsed the Texas congressman in Myrtle Beach. Davis is a rising star in Republican circles and a highly regarded fiscal conservative who holds sway over many tea party activists.
Tune in Thursday at 8 p.m. ET for the CNN/Southern Republican Presidential Debate hosted by John King and follow it on Twitter at #CNNDebate. For real-time coverage of the South Carolina primary, go to CNNPolitics.com and on the CNN apps for iPhone, iPad, Android or other phones. FULL POST
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (CNN) – Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman will drop out of the race on Monday and endorse Mitt Romney, a senior official with the former Utah governor's campaign told CNN.
"Gov. Huntsman did not want to stand in the way of the candidate best prepared to beat (President) Barack Obama and turn our economy around. That's Mitt Romney," the campaign official said. FULL POST
(CNN) - South Carolina's largest newspaper, The State, endorsed former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Sunday, just six days before the state's Republican presidential primary.
The paper's editorial board stated that while frontrunner Mitt Romney is "more appealing" than the rest of the GOP field, Huntsman is "more principled, has a far more impressive resume and offers a significantly more important message."
North Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) – Newt Gingrich defended himself before a church congregation Sunday, touching on the reason some of his opponents, and some voters, might consider him a flawed presidential candidate.
"I don't come here today as a perfect person. I don't come here today without, I guess the advertisement is, baggage," Gingrich said. "I am a person, I've lived a fairly long life." FULL POST
(CNN) - Six days and two debates before the South Carolina primary, conservative GOP presidential hopefuls attacked front-runner Mitt Romney on Sunday to try to head off what two influential Republicans said could be a decisive third straight victory for the former Massachusetts governor.
In appearances on morning talk shows, candidates Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry all contrasted their conservative credentials with Romney's more moderate record in hopes that South Carolina voters will agree with their contention that Romney can't defeat President Barack Obama in November.
Greenville, South Carolina (CNN) - Marilee Walmer is no fan of Mitt Romney's.
An administrative assistant from Taylors, South Carolina, Walmer is backing Rick Santorum in the Republican presidential race.
(CNN) – A conservative political heavyweight clashed with a super PAC supportive of Newt Gingrich on Sunday, adding to the firestorm over the group's recent video attacking Mitt Romney's corporate background.
President of Club for Growth Chris Chocola charged the super PAC, Winning our Future, with creating a video that is "simply fiction" and "distorted." FULL POST
(CNN) – Bob Jones III, an influential evangelical leader, defended his support of Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential bid Sunday, despite the religious differences he has with the current GOP candidate.
"If this man can best run our country and can beat Hillary Clinton, then why should we be afraid of him, even though we vitally disagree with his Mormonism," Jones said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Mormonism is not Christianity and he understood that." FULL POST
(CNN) - Stephen Colbert says he won't be stopped by officials saying it's too late for him to run in South Carolina's presidential primary.
"They said you can't go to the moon. They said you can't put cheese inside a pizza crust, but NASA did it. They had to, because the cheese kept floating off in space," Colbert told ABC's "This Week" Sunday.
(CNN) – Two influential conservative politicians in South Carolina predicted Sunday that Mitt Romney will effectively wrap up the Republican presidential nomination if he wins the upcoming Palmetto State primary.
Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Tim Scott, both Republicans, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that a Romney victory in South Carolina on January 21 would end the suspense after the former Massachusetts governor won the first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. FULL POST