Grassfire Nation, the parent company of Liberty News and the Patriot Action Network, conducted a survey with tea party voters in Florida and South Carolina the day after the Iowa Caucuses. The results are very good for Santorum, very bad for Newt Gingrich.

The top three candidates ranked as follows:

SOUTH CAROLINA

1. Rick Santorum – 46%
2. Newt Gingrich – 23.6%
3. Mitt Romney – 12.6%

FLORIDA

1. Rick Santorum – 42%
2. Newt Gingrich – 26.3%
3. Mitt ROmney – 15.2%

The Grassfire Nation press release makes some interesting points.

“These results show that Santorum’s Iowa win is already having huge ramifications and has re-shaped the GOP presidential race,” says Steve Elliott of Grassfire Nation, which conducted the poll by surveying its members in these two states between January 4-5. “If these results hold, Romney will not be able to consolidate conservative support and Santorum will likely be the clear ‘anti-Romney’ candidate in a two-man race coming out of South Carolina and Florida,” says Elliott. Other findings:

*    Newt Gingrich is the biggest loser coming out of Iowa and should expect to see his poll numbers drop in these two states.
*    Mitt Romney still has no traction with Tea Party conservatives.
*    Ron Paul is the runaway “least favorite” candidate (41% in SC, 47% FL).
*    When asked who will “will ultimately win” the nomination, Romney is the clear winner (46% SC, 49% FL)
*    When asked who has “the best chance to defeat President Obama,” results are nearly evenly divided between Romney, Gingrich and Santorum in both states.

The survey is statistically valid for the specific audience of Grassfire Nation team members in South Carolina and Florida. More than 92% of those surveyed said they are “actively part of” or “identify closely with” the Tea Party movement, making this survey an excellent measure of Tea Party support.

With two weeks to go until South Carolina voters decide who to choose, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry have some time to spend money to try and tilt the results a bit. That said, now that Mitt Romney has a strong lead among primary voters overall (in South Carolina) and Rick Santorum dominates among tea party voters, it’s fair to say we’ve got a two way race shaping up for an epic battle moving towards the second half of January.

-Eric Odom

Related posts:

1. While all eyes are on Iowa today, South Carolina will soon be the 2012 GOP hammer
2. BREAKING: Bachmann Storms To Huge Lead Among Iowa Conservatives In New Poll
3. BREAKING: New Iowa Poll Gives Herman Cain Double-Digit Lead But Iowans Unsure
4. Time for Iowa!
5. Florida to decide the GOP primary?