Santorum Polls Well in South Carolina

Politico reports:

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Rick Santorum scored a decisive victory in a straw poll held Saturday among Republicans in South Carolina's largest county.

The former Pennsylvania senator won 31 percent of the vote from a group of 413 activists who cast ballots at the Greenville County Republican convention.

Newt Gingrich came in second place, taking 14 percent, Michele Bachmann and Donald Trump each captured 7 percent to tie for third place.

Santorum and Gingrich both spoke at the meeting, offering hard-edged denunciations of President Barack Obama, and each has made multiple visits to the state in the last year. Santorum, in particular, has been a familiar presence in South Carolina, visiting the first-in-the-South primary state more than any other potential presidential candidate. Performing well in the conservative-heavy upstate of South Carolina is important in GOP primaries and Santorum is working hard to appeal to evangelicals here. He had a group of supporters from the nearby Christian school Bob Jones University in attendance Saturday.