Prison Planet.com

After being largely discounted out of a top three finish in South Carolina, Ron Paul is now closing fast on third placed Rick Santorum, as a new poll out of the state shows Mitt Romney’s lead slipping.

Unlike New Hampshire, where Paul finished second after taking advantage of strong support from Independents, South Carolina is dominated by social conservatives who would be more inclined to vote for someone like Santorum (although Mitt Romney’s frontrunner status defies rational explanation given his true stance on abortion).

That’s what makes Paul’s rise to just one per cent behind Santorum in a new Insider Advantage poll all the more impressive.