Gingrich Surges, Ron Paul Improves; Romney, Santorum Slide

The Republican presidential race is turning more dramatic with every passing day. The game-changing developments mark the 2012 Republican contest a tough one.

Romney, who so far remained unscathed and maintained his lead in the state polls as well as nationwide polls, is getting surprises at a wrong time. In South Carolina, he had enjoyed remarkable 19-point lead over his nearest rival Gingrich till last week.

He had 10 point lead till Thursday. However, multiple poll results Thursday gave Gingrich a lead of up to 6 points over Romney.

The latest poll results showed Ron Paul's ratings rise by up to three points, placing him at the third position when compared to his previous ratings. Santorum's ratings showed a slight decline and he is placed fourth in the polls.

The poll by PPP (D) showed Romney (28 percent) is trailing behind Gingrich (34 percent) by 6 points while Paul is at third place with 16 percent followed by Santorum with 14 points.

According to Rasmussen Reports poll, Gingrich is leading the race with 33 percent, closely followed by Romney with 31 percent.

An Insider Advantage poll shows Gingrich has an advantage of 3 points over Romney. Gingrich has garnered 32 percent of votes while Romney got 29 percent.

Both Rasmussen Reports poll and Insider Advantage poll put Paul at third place with 15 percent while Santorum is in the last place with 11 percent.

If these poll results are any indicator, then, like in Iowa, you can expect surprises from South Carolina Republican primary too. In that case the Republican battle will go competitive to Florida and even beyond it.