[2] Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was declared the winner of the race as soon as polls closed, however, Mitt Romney went on to win the nomination.

The 2012 South Carolina Republican primary was tentatively scheduled to occur on February 28, 2012,[3] much later than the date in 2008, which almost immediately followed the beginning of the year in January 2008.

[5] Because of the move, the Republican National Committee decided to strip Florida of half of its delegates.

[6] Also as a result, the South Carolina Republican Party, along with Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada then sought to move their primaries and caucuses back into early January.

This included the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, termed "Obamacare" by its opponents, as well as government spending as a whole.