Gingrich wins Georgia primary

Newt Gingrich was projected to win Georgia’s primary Tuesday night by multiple media outlets, providing the former House Speaker with a much-needed win in the state he represented for two decades in Congress.

The Associated Press and CNN called the race for Gingrich as the polls closed at 7 p.m. ET.

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Gingrich had 47 percent of the vote. Mitt Romney came in second with 26 percent, and Rick Santorum took third with 20 percent. Ron Paul placed fourth with 7 percent of the vote.

Gingrich is expected to capture the lion’s share of Georgia’s 76 delegates, the most of any of the 10 Super Tuesday states.

{mosads}Gingrich’s victory was largely expected after he spent significant time and money in Georgia over the past two weeks. A poll by Landmark and Rosetta Stone released earlier this week showed the former Speaker with a 21-point edge there.

Gingrich spoke about the importance of the state’s primary to his continued presidential effort while campaigning, bringing in high-profile supporters like former presidential candidate Herman Cain.

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“I would hope to win here and I think, given the years that I spent both helping represent the state in Congress but also helping grow the Republican Party, I think I have some reasonably good likelihood of winning here,” Gingrich told CNN last month.

Gingrich is hoping to parlay the victory — paired with his win in South Carolina — into a core Southern bloc. Earlier Tuesday, Gingrich reiterated his call for additional GOP debates before the upcoming Alabama and Mississippi primaries.

“The people in Alabama and the people in Mississippi deserve to see the candidates without cameras in the way,” Gingrich said. “I do think the debates have actually been helpful, I think they have helped things substantially.”