Ron Paul Beats Newt Gingrich For Third Place In Michigan Primary Place
Texas Rep Ron Paul is ahead of former Speaker Newt Gingrich by six precentage points in Michigan, placing third roughly two weeks before the state's Republican primary on Feb. 28, 2012. In the aftermath of his three-state victory, meanwhile, Santorum has surged 19 percentage points since Mitchell/Rosetta Stone's last poll on Feb. 7, besting Mitt Romney in voter support in the latter's home state. Reuters

Ron Paul 2012 campaign is gaining traction in South Carolina Republican primary according to the recent polls. A week is left for the South Carolina primary and the trends indicate a tight race for the Republican nomination among the top four candidates.

According to recent poll results released by the American Research Group and Rasmussen, Texas Congressman Ron Paul has got the biggest boost in numbers.

Polls conducted by ARG between Jan. 11 and 12 put Mitt Romney at 29 percent, Newt Gingrich at 25 percent, Paul at 20 percent and Santorum at 7 percent. While in an ARG poll conducted on Jan. 4 and 5, Romney got 31 percent, while Gingrich and Santorum tied at 24 percent and Paul at 9 percent.

The poll indicates that in a span of just one week, the Ron Paul Revolution has gained 11 points while Santorum has lost 17 points, indicating that the Texas Rep. Paul is going to repeat or even better his performance in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The Rasmussen poll also indicates a similar trend as far as Paul and Santorum are concerned. The first poll was conducted on Jan. 5 after the Iowa polls, while the second poll was on Jan. 12 after the New Hampshire polls. The results show that Paul has gained five points and moved from fourth position to the third with 16 percent, while Santorum fell to the third place and tied with Paul at 16 points, indicating a loss of eight points.

Gingrich has also improved his position marginally in both the polls, while Romney lost two points in the ARG poll and gained one point in Rasmussen poll and remains at the top with 28 points.

While a PPP(D) poll also puts Romney ahead at 29 percent, Gingrich at 24 percent and Paul at 15 percent. Santorum is one point behind Paul at fourth position.

If these polls are an indicator then the Republican Primary in South Carolina is going to be competitive. Paul's surge indicates that he is gaining ground in the state and the next week's campaigning will further improve his ratings. For Santorum who is trying to woo the evangelicals it is bad news as he is losing support at a crucial point just ahead of the election.

Gingrich looks like he is consolidating his stake and improvising it. While Romney is losing his support marginally but steadily.