ABJ - January 13 - According to a poll by RealClearPolitics, the South Carolina primary on January 21 will see former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney capture his third consecutive victory in a bid for the Republican Party nomination.

In South Carolina, Romney leads all Republican candidates with 31.3 per cent of the vote, according to the poll. Rick Santorum, former Senator of Pennsylvania, places second with 20.7 per cent, while former Speaker Newt Gingrich is in a close third at 19.7 per cent.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul is fourth in the South Carolina poll, at 10.7 per cent, followed by Texas Governor Rick Perry at five per cent and former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman in sixth place with 2.3 per cent.

After the previous two outcomes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney leads all Republican candidates with two states carried, 23 delegates, a popular vote of 125,680, and 34.4 per cent of the vote. Romney is followed by Paul in second place, with 10 delegates, 80,731 votes, and 22.3 per cent of the vote.

“We urge Ron Paul’s opponents who have been unsuccessfully trying to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney to unite by getting out of the race and uniting behind Paul’s candidacy,” said Jesse Benton, National Campaign Chairman for Ron Paul. “It’s clear he is the sole Republican candidate who can take on and defeat both Mitt Romney and [President] Barack Obama.”