Ron Paul Surging in Recent Polls

Recent polls out of South Carolina show distinct trends emerging as campaigning picks up in the final week before the critical South Carolina Primary on January 21. South Carolina, as always, will be a pivotal state in the nomination process. The race promises to deliver on the hype as recent polls are hinting at an ever-tightening gap between perennial frontrunner, Mitt Romney and Congressman Ron Paul.

A new American Research Group Poll released 1/12 highlights a very interesting aspect of the South Carolina race. Poll numbers indicate Libertarian-leaning Republican candidate, Ron Paul is surging among likely Republican Primary-goers. He retains an eleven-point increase in support since AMG released an identical SC GOP nomination poll on 1/5 in which Paul received only 9% of the support among Republicans.

Once again, as was the case in both New Hampshire and Iowa, Ron Paul held the highest level of support among Independent voters at 29%, slightly ahead of Rick Santorum’s 27% showing. This niche of voters is often forgotten media-types in presidential nomination process, however, Independents play an increasingly important role in politics as Americans have begun to leave the two-party system in favor of ideologically consistent candidates who value ideas rather than party rhetoric.

In the mainstream, Paul is seen as a fringe candidate whose views are out of step with establishment Republican ideology. However, as history tells us, elections are not won by acquiring the votes of a small group of ardent supporters; they are won by candidates who consistently appeal to individuals across party lines with support from Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike.

Ron Paul, statistically speaking, is the only candidate who has a real shot at toppling President Barack Obama in the 2012 elections due to his widespread support among  inherently different political groups including mainstream liberals and conservatives.

This  recent data, coupled with modest contractions in the support of Paul’s most notable competitors, will result in a hotly contested South Carolina Primary that will ultimately be decided in the last few hours of campaigning in which the candidates will make their final appeal to the SC electorate.