Newt Gingrich, rising in the polls, may have captured momentum by not only slamming the door on questions about his personal life, but reminding his rivals -- and voters -- that he's battling to the end to win the hearts and minds of America's conservatives.

The former House speaker, ahead of Saturday's South Carolina primary, used the debate stage Thursday night to position himself as the chief challenger to Mitt Romney. Though he faced tough questions over his leadership style and past support of a controversial health insurance mandate, it was his opening response to a question about salacious allegations made by his second ex-wife that set the tone for the night and left no doubt that Gingrich would take on all-comers.

“I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that,” Gingrich told the moderator.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Rick Santorum received 34 votes more than Mitt Romney in the leadoff Iowa caucuses, state Republican officials reported Thursday, after initially claiming Romney was ahead by eight votes.

Party officials were reluctant to declare an official winner, since the results from eight precincts are still missing and any of those could hold an advantage for Romney.

But Santorum's campaign declared victory in a statement Thursday morning, suggesting the surprise ending to the historically close Iowa caucuses has helped undercut the aura of "inevitability" around Romney.

"We've had two early state contests with two winners," Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley said. "Conservatives can now see and believe they don't have to settle for Romney, the Establishment's moderate candidate. ...

Another chance to make a first impression?

Fresh off a rousing debate performance that had the Republican audience giving a standing ovation -- purportedly the first in a debate since Ronald Reagan in New Hampshire in 1980 -- Newt Gingrich may be reconsidering how far he can go in the GOP campaign.

Holding a distant second place in several polls, Gingrich said Tuesday that he could stick it out past South Carolina if he performs well enough against front-runner Mitt Romney.

"If (Romney is) at 25 or 30 (percent), we're still in a serious race," Gingrich told CBS' "This Morning." "If he gets up to 40 or 45, you have to be realistic."

The former speaker told Fox News on Tuesday he thinks debate prowess will be a "big factor" in Saturday's election, as primary voters look for somebody who can defeat President Obama on the debate stage.

A federal judge has ruled that Rick Perry and three other Republican presidential candidates will not be added to Virginia's primary ballot.

District Court Judge John Gibney Jr. rejected their requests, arguing that they filed their challenges to Virginia's stringent ballot requirements too late.

"They played the game, they lost, and then they complained about the rules," he said.

Two new polls today show a close race in South Carolina, the location of the third Republican presidential battleground in the race to replace pro-abortion President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney holds a solid lead in Florida.

With Iowa and New Hampshire having given the former Massachusetts governor victories in the two traditional early primary election states, Romney now holds a slim two-point lead over Newt Gingrich in South Carolina, according to a new survey from the Insider Advantage polling firm. Conducted for the Augusta Chronicle and The Savannah Morning News newspaper, Romney has 23 percent support, and Gingrich has 21 percent.

After the former Speaker, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has 14 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul has 13 percent, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has 7 percent, and Texas Gov.

The explosive issue of immigration is poised to creep back into the Republican primary battle as the candidates prepare to barnstorm South Carolina, one of a handful of states being sued by the federal government for their illegal immigration crackdowns.

While the issue played second fiddle to concerns like jobs and foreign policy in the prior two contests, voters in South Carolina are likely more attuned, given the high-profile lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department.

"That's very much an important issue in South Carolina," said Van Hipp Jr., former chairman of the South Carolina GOP and current chairman of the advocacy group Americans for Securing the Border.

Mitt Romney is charging into the state with arguably the most aggressive message, praising the state's immigration law while trumpeting his own bona fides on the issue.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's timing for a gaffe remark about how he "liked" being able to fire people to come out now on the heels of a pro-Newt Gingrich film that personifies Mr. Romney as a corporate raider.

At a Chamber of Commerce campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire Mr. Romney made a remark about insurance companies having an incentive to make sure that people are satisfied with their service.

"It also means that if you don’t like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. If someone doesn’t give me the good service I need, I want to say, you know, I’m going to go get someone else to provide that service to me," said Mr. Romney.

“I believe in the setting as I described this morning where people are able to choose their own doctor, choose their own insurance company. If they don’t like their insurance company or their provider, they can get rid of it,” Romney then added...

DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. – Mitt Romney has a small lead in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation Republican primary after two tiny towns cast their ballots shortly after midnight Tuesday. But the early morning votes are merely a foreshadow to a busy day in the Granite State as the GOP presidential candidates flit around the state to make their final case to voters.

The first five-minute voting session kicked off in the tiny hamlet of Dixville Notch, whose residents are famous for being the first to cast their ballots each election season.

Romney and Jon Huntsman tied with two votes each in the town. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul each got one. President Obama got three votes.

The small town only has nine registered voters.The nine residents who cast their ballots include three registered Republicans and two registered Democrats.

ABC's GOP presidential debate on Saturday overflowed with liberal questions. Of the 48 queries by George Stephanopoulos, Diane Sawyer and others, 20 came from the left, three were from the right and 25 were neutral or horse race questions. A whopping 25 percent (12 questions) revolved around contraception-related subjects or gay rights.

Although birth control isn't exactly a pressing 2012 issue (especially in a tough economy), George Stephanopoulos wasted seven questions on contraception. The former Democratic operative began by noting Rick Santorum's belief that there is no constitutional "right to privacy." He added, "And following from that, he believes that states have the right to ban contraception." The co-moderator repeated, "Governor Romney, do you believe that states have the right to ban contraception?

In a Saturday night debate, ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, a former Democratic strategist for former pro-abortion President Bill Clinton, devoted considerable time to questioning the candidates on the issue of contraception.

Although Stephanopoulos was panned heavily by conservative bloggers and reported for devoting so much time to such a non-controversial topic at a time when the American voting public is focused on the economy, the discussion did provide an opportunity for the Republican candidates to present their pro-life views.

During the discussion, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, outlined his opposition to Roe and his support for better judges.

“I don’t believe they decided that correctly. In my view, Roe v. Wade was improperly decided. It was based upon that same principle.