Not one to remain silent about what he sees as government waste, Texas Senator Ron Paul sent several jabs at his Republican rivals for the party's presidential nomination during a recent debate in South Carolina. Tied with Fred Thompson for fifth place, the top tier candidates do not consider Paul, but the leading three may be looking at South Carolina as a do-or-die state in their bid for the office.
According to poll results posted at usaelectionpolls.com, Mike Huckabee leads in the state with 33 percent of the GOP caucus-goers saying they will vote for him in the January 19 election. John McCain holds second place with 21 percent, Mitt Romney has 14 percent, and Rudy Giuliani holds eight percent with Paul and Thompson each showing just five percent. The South Carolina Republican caucus will be held the same day as the 2008 primary election in Nevada where Paul is showing five percent support, making him the state's sixth choice.
During the recent debate in Myrtle Beach, Paul again rebuked his rivals for their spending habits and, according to many political analysts seems proud of his anti-spending and anti-government growth stands. He views his position as being the reason the grass roots efforts have been successful in boosting his popularity and well as the balance in his campaign coffers.
South Carolina will be the first state in the primary season where the war in Iraq tops the list of voters' concerns with the economy second on their priority list. Both issues have been a key to Paul's popularity among his supporters.
