MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina—Mitt Romney will bear the brunt of Republican attacks in tonight’s Fox News debate, but the central battle is between Newt and the Ricks for the hearts of social conservatives.
Building off his near-victory in the Iowa Caucuses, Rick Santorum is fending off attacks on his record of earmarks in the Senate — and is trying to brand himself as offering the most change from the policies of President Barack Obama.
“It’s not about winning or not winning. It’s about how you want to win,” he said at the South Carolina Faith and Freedom Coalition forum. “Do you want to win with a mandate, as Reagan did?”
Newt Gingrich is trying to occupy the same space, setting the scene for a firefight. The former Speaker of the House is calling on conservatives to unify around him as the alternative to Mitt Romney.
Rick Perry is hoping for a third look here after skipping the New Hampshire primary and nearly dropping out after a poor performance in the Iowa Caucuses. He’s emphasizing his Christian faith, telling an audience today that “political correctness has got to stop in this country,” when it comes to religion.
Ron Paul will get more airtime tonight owing to his higher poll numbers, but he’ll be left out of the action tonight, except when he can insert himself by sheer, zany force of personality; he’s not relevant to the scrap between social conservatives, and the other contender for independent voters, Jon Huntsman, is gone.
If Romney can withstand the pressure — and more important, if none of the more conservative candidates can make the case to be the sole Anti-Romney candidate — he’ll be well on his way to victory here.
BuzzFeed will be bringing you the latest on tonight’s debate at