Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the US House of Representatives, has surged from a nine-point deficit in opinion polls to win the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, raising the possibility of a long battle to pick the man who will confront President Barack Obama in November.<br /><br />The race now moves to Florida on January 31, where Gingrich, Romney and Santorum will battle, joined by Ron Paul, a Texas representative with libertarian views who remains in the race despite low results.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane reports.
