Polls are closed in South Carolina, and we're liveblogging the results of the Republican presidential primary.
Results: AP (statewide) | AP (by county) | CNN | Google | Politico
It wasn't long ago that the conventional wisdom was that Romney had won the first two contests (IA and NH), and South Carolina would deliver the knockout and end the GOP nomination battle.
Then, it turned out that Romney actually didn't win Iowa. And now, it looks like he'll lose SC.
My take? If Romney wins or keeps it close, this race is essentially over. If Romney loses by more than 5 points, this thing will drag out, and drag out for a while.
Romney better hope this thing doesn't get called at 7:01 p.m. ET.
4:01 PM PT (David Nir): The exit polls are here. Backing out the numbers, it looks like 38 Newt, 29 Mitt.
4:01 PM PT: NBC, Fox call it for Newt. This is a disaster for Romney.
4:01 PM PT:
4:02 PM PT:
4:03 PM PT: So the big drama appears to be whether Gingrich won by double digits.
4:04 PM PT:
4:08 PM PT:
4:11 PM PT: Santorum's placement actually matters. A third-place finish might keep him in, but fourth place? There would be no rationale for continuing on after coming in last place in what was supposed to be fertile ground.
And with Santorum out, we can continue seeing the not-Romney vote coalesce around Gingrich.
4:14 PM PT (Kaili Joy Gray): The liveblogging continues in the next thread.
