South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, who has refused to endorse any of the Republican presidential candidates, acknowledges that Mitt Romney probably will win his state's primary,
The Daily Beast reports.
The influential Republican, a founding member of the Senate Tea Party Caucus, made the prediction on Mark Levin's nationally syndicated talk radio show Tuesday night.
Early on, South Carolina's leading conservatives had committed themselves to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, The Daily Beast says. Although Perry is lagging in the polls and got only 1 percent of the vote in New Hampshire's primary Tuesday, his supporters are obligated to stand by their man because he is continuing to campaign in the Palmetto State.
The Daily Beast speculates that conservatives who could help Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum to a South Carolina victory are "removed from the board as effectively as if the had pledged their cards to Romney himself."
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