AND YET.

"There is a large anti-Romney bloc out there," O'Connell added. If you put together the votes for Santorum, former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry into one, "they would have the numbers to beat Romney," he said.They cannot be rolled into one, of course - unless perhaps they can.Next weekend a group of leading Christian Republicans will meet in Texas. It is widely assumed that the gathering, on the Texas ranch of influential southern Baptist Paul Pressler, is aimed at endorsing and, presumably, enriching a single candidacy which could finally energize the party's restive conservative base and unify the stop-Romney vote.The leading contenders for that spot are Gingrich, Santorum and Perry and they have all vowed to contest South Carolina. But Gingrich and Santorum have close ties, and Perry appears to have no hope of a late surge. Who knows what the potential for a unity candidate might be?Some major Republican donors are also intent on blocking a Romney nomination. UGG Classic Cardy 5819 Casino executive Sheldon Adelson, a longtime Gingrich backer, gave $5 million to a political action committee supporting the former Speaker's candidacy, according to news reports.The donation went to Winning Our Future, a political action committee that supports Gingrich. Such committees, known as "Super PACS", can take in unlimited donations and unleash a barrage of negative advertising against opposing candidates. That was how Romney's Restore Our Future PAC snuffed out a late challenge by Gingrich in Iowa.Adelson's donation means Gingrich can now take the fight to Romney in South Carolina, where Republican primary politics is a bloodsport. Gingrich is unlikely to shrink from the opportunity.Perhaps the greatest threat Romney faces in South Carolina is from Republican Senator Jim DeMint. A favorite of the conservative anti-Washington Tea Party movement, DeMint has yet to endorse a candidate."An endorsement by Jim DeMint would be a huge boost" to a Romney rival ahead of the South Carolina primary, O'Connell said. "It could make all the difference in a tight race."