A lot has happened in the last few days in the 2012 Republican race.

After a recount in Iowa, it was found that Rick Santorum had in fact defeated Mitt Romney, by a margin of 34 votes. If that wasn’t enough to pull down Romney, then Thursday’s debate was. New Gingrich took the debate by storm, and that cauterized his landslide victory in the South Carolina Primary two days later.

The very first question to start the debate involved reports that Gingrich gave his then-second wife a choice of an open marriage or divorce, after it was found he was having an affair. Gingrich fired back in his powerful, poignant tone.

“To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question in a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine,” Gingrich told John King, the debate’s correspondent.

After receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, there was assurance that Gingrich would have great success in South Carolina. In result, he garnered 40% of the vote, defeating the previous victor Romney by over 12%. Santorum came in third place with 17%, which was disappointing considering his sudden victory in Iowa.

“We didn’t get the bounce we had hoped out of Iowa,” Santorum told CNN reporters.

Ron Paul came in fourth with 13% of the vote, while Rick Perry, who ended his campaign earlier in the week, got about 1%.

After the stifling debate on Monday night, in which moderators silenced the audiences and critics stated the Gingrich was “off his game,” the critical Florida Primary will be next Tuesday.

Photo: Politico.com/AP