Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wins South Carolina, AP reports

photo Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich takes part in a TV interview during a campaign event at the Grapevine Restaurant in Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, the unpredictable voting day of the South Carolina presidential primary.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Newt Gingrich stormed to an upset win in the South Carolina primary Saturday night, dealing a sharp setback to Mitt Romney and scrambling the race for the Republican presidential nomination, The Associated Press reported.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul trailed badly.

That's according to interviews with voters as they left the polls.

The polls in the state have closed as of 7 p.m. EST.

The exit polls also show Gingrich benefited from strong support among voters who call themselves conservative.

The exit poll was conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research. The survey involves interviews with more than 4,000 voters as they left polls at randomly selected sites.

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