Newt Gingrich was not on many peoples short list to be the Republican nomination to face off against President Obama in this years American Presedintal elections but after his stunning win in South Carolina last night he is now a seriouc contender.

He is not the favourite yet, that is still Mitt Romney, however Romney is far from being a solid front runner, it turns out that he did not win in Iowan and it is surprising that he has not solidified his position at the front against an opponent who only this week at to defend allegations of having an open marriage.

The fact that Gingrich is still in the race in the face of those allegations brings up the question, can he be derailed by any skeletons in the cupboard, the chances are he cannot, everything that can be thrown at him has been, the same cannot be said about Romney.

Romney is shrouded in tax return speculation and his refusal to confirm whether he will release his full tax retruns could come back to haunt him, and it is not just his taxes that are an issue but his Mormon religeon as well.
Romney is a best priced 5/11 with Bwin while Gingrich can be had at a juicy 5/2 with Ladbrokes, not bad odds in what is now really a two horse race.

There is no guarantee that Romney will do any better in Florida, the stage of the Republican nomination race and anything less than a win could see him deposed as favourite, especially if Gingrich maintains the momentumn that he seems to be building up.

A small punt on Gingrich at 5/2 with Ladbrokes would not be the most foolish bet ever placed.