News 12 at 6 o'clock / Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- After a late surge that surprised many, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich came out on top in the Palmetto State Saturday night.

"I just want to say that I think South Carolina showed Southern hospitality as beautifully as any place we've been," said Gingrich in his victory speech.

The ballroom at the Hilton Hotel in Columbia was packed full with supporters, volunteers and media from all over the world.

"We proved here in South Carolina that people power with the right ideas beats big money, and with your help, we're going to prove it again in Florida. Thank you and good luck and God bless you!" Gingrich said.

Gingrich addressed an ecstatic crowd just before 10 p.m. Saturday, but the celebration began much earlier. Media outlets began predicting he'd be the winner around seven, and it became a full-out party in the ballroom.

Down the road, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gave his concession speech and congratulated Gingrich. As the Gingrich supporters watched that speech live, they answered back by singing him "Goodbye."

"I want to congratulate, of course, Speaker Gingrich and my fellow Republicans for a hard-fought campaign here in South Carolina," Romney said.

When Gingrich finally took the podium, he went straight after President Obama. He offered kind words to Romney and even deeper praise to Rick Santorum.

"If you look at the four of us, we are proof that you can come from a wide range of backgrounds, and in America, you have a chance to try to make your case no matter what the elites think in New York and Washington," Gingrich told the crowd.

After a few long weeks, South Carolina is now in the rear-view mirror, but Gingrich promised never to forget the people who turned this election season around.

Since 1980, the Republican candidate who has won South Carolina has gone on to be the nominee.

There are a few things to watch for now as the candidates head to Florida.

Number one is can Gingrich solidify conservative support in Florida? The Sunshine State is very diverse, so that could be a problem.

Number two is what's Santorum's next step? Last night we heard a lot of praise for Santorum from Gingrich. He'd like Santorum to bow out and bring his support to the Gingrich camp.

Number three is Mitt Romney. He had a bad week here, but can he turn things around in Florida?

Part of Romney's plan of turning things around is finally releasing his tax returns. He says he'll release his 2010 tax returns and 2011 tax estimates on Tuesday. He says it was a mistake for his presidential campaign to hold off as long as it did in getting them out. He says too much attention was being paid to the tax issues instead of his campaign. He wants that focus back on the main campaign issues.

"Given all the attention that has been focused on tax returns, given the distraction I think they became, in these last couple of weeks ... I will make it clear, I will release my tax returns for 2010, which were the last completed," he said.

After finishing third Saturday night, Santorum says he's under no pressure to quit the GOP presidential race so his conservative voters can flock to Gingrich. The former Pennsylvania senator told CNN's "State of the Union" his campaign is building momentum even after a third-place finish in South Carolina. He says he expects to run well in Florida's primary on Jan. 31.

"This may be a two-person race, but the two people may be on the phone together. This idea that Mitt Romney is, you know, is not going to be able to be defeated unless conservatives coalesce, it's objectively false," he said.

Fourth place finisher Ron Paul is not letting last night's numbers discourage him, either, and is continuing his bid for the White House. He says he's pushing on and looking past Florida since things don't look promising for him there.

"It's a big state. You need a lot of money. They've cut half of their votes in half, and winner takes all, so I'm a very frugal person especially with my donors' money and I think ... the money is better spent to go to the caucus states -- the smaller states," Paul said.