Gingrich leads in South Carolina primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Newt Gingrich bid for an upset Saturday night in the South Carolina primary, the first Southern testing ground in the race for the Republican presidential nomination and historically a harbinger of the final outcome.

As polls closed across the state, exit polling showed the former House speaker ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney overall, and leading by a wide margin among the state's conservatives, tea party supporters and born-again Christians.

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich takes part in a TV intervie...