GREENVILLE, S.C — Mitt Romney is heading into primary day conceding that he'll win some and lose some.
Romney on Friday acknowledged the contest here is "neck-and-neck" and said he expects to lose "some primaries" to rival Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker.
As voters head to the polls Saturday, Romney and Gingrich both planned to appear at the same breakfast restaurant in the morning. Both campaigns refused to change their schedules Friday night, potentially setting up a face-off between the two men ahead of the polls closing.
The past week has been an abrupt reversal of fortune for the former Massachusetts governor, who landed here last Wednesday after a big victory in New Hampshire and what was then a narrow win in Iowa.
But this week the Iowa GOP reversed his win there after problems with the vote count, and he's been dogged by questions about releasing his tax returns. And instead of emerging from South Carolina with three wins and a seeming lock on the GOP nomination, Romney and his team are now acknowledging they could lose here. That would leave the putative front-runner with just one early state win heading into Florida's Jan. 31 primary.
Romney's campaign planned at least two campaign stops Saturday ahead of polls closing. He planned to visit his campaign headquarters and Tommy's Country Ham House, where Gingrich also planned to stop. Romney was to end the day in Columbia, the state capital.
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