South Carolina (Channel 6 News) — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won what was a ‘critical’ primary Saturday in South Carolina. Gingrich who has had disappointing results in the past 2 primaries was able to take in 4o percent of the vote, while his more  moderate opponent Mitt Romney was able to take in 28 percent of the vote.

“It is very humbling and very sobering to have so many people who so deeply want their country to get back on the right track — so many people who are so concerned about jobs, about medical costs, about the everyday parts of life, and who feel that the elites in Washington and New York have no understanding, no care, no concern, no reliability, and in fact do not represent them at all,” Gingrich said.

Newt Gingrich’s win in Saturday’s South Carolina GOP presidential primary marks a stunning turnaround for a candidate who finished fourth in Iowa and New Hampshire and whose campaign had been left for dead — again — by observers just weeks ago.

Since the beginning of the modern GOP primary system in 1980, this is the first time that three different GOP candidates won nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The winner of the South Carolina primary, which this year is the third contest on the primary and caucus calendar, has gone on to win the Republican nomination in every election since 1980.