U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney stopped in briefly to give leaders a few insights about the upcoming legislative season in Washington.

Chip Felkel, CEO of the Felkel Group, discussed South Carolina’s upcoming Republican Presidential Primary.

“The South Carolina GOP Primary has become the Super Bowl of GOP primaries,” Felkel said. “We should see a nice windfall from it. We should embrace it. ... We have an incredible opportunity to show the Upstate off.”

The panel discussion portion of the meeting drew input from Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt, Butch Kirven, chairman of the Greenville County Council and Greer Mayor Rick Danner.

The question, however, is whether conservatives unhappy with Romney will finally rally behind one of those candidates or continue to divide their support.

“As always, we’re going to play an important role,’’ said Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist in Greenville and close observer of South Carolina politics. “In this case, the role might be to confirm a Romney nomination, or it might be to draw a line in the sand. But I don’t see enough agreement among those who want to stop Romney about how to do it. If it doesn’t happen here, I’m not sure how it will happen.’’

Felkel, who is not supporting any candidate, said the conservatives he talks to like Romney’s argument that he is the most electable Republican, even though they may not be happy about the health care law Romney signed in Massachusetts and his past support of abortion rights.

“They’re getting warmer to the concept of winning, as opposed to just being right,’’ he said.

If Santorum or another Romney rival cannot win in South Carolina, some say they will be hard-pressed to compete in the next primary, in Florida on Jan. 31. That contest hinges less on rallies and more on ad campaigns in the state’s expensive media markets. “Once you get beyond South Carolina, the process becomes prohibitive, and money starts to quickly dry up,’’ said Charles Bierbauer, dean of the journalism program at the University of South Carolina.

The true effect of an open primary, said Greenville-based Republican political strategist Chip Felkel, is that the process serves to select a more-moderate candidate that will appeal to a larger base of voters — an important element, he said, as South Carolina trumpets its role as the political bellwether of the South.

“We would have never seen the growth of the Republican Party in South Carolina without an open primary,” Felkel said. “For many years, it wasn’t cool to vote in a Republican primary. It wasn’t cool to vote for Republicans. That’s all changed now.”

 Mitt Romney woke from his photo-finish win in Iowa facing two new forces that will shape the next stage of the fight for the Republican presidential nomination: the rise of a fresh social-conservative champion in Rick Santorum and the emergence of a highly motivated foe in Newt Gingrich.

Republican analysts in South Carolina say Santorum has been successful in appealing to undecided conservative voters who are not necessarily activists, but he has a long way to go in proving that he’s the right candidate to beat President Obama.

“He has certainly spent a lot of time here and I think he has a great deal of support with those in the social conservative community, which makes up a decent amount of the Republican primary,” said Republican consultant Hollis “Chip” Felkel, who last worked in the Bush-Cheney campaigns in 2000 and 2004.

“His struggle will be whether or not he can do well enough in New Hampshire to show some increased viability,” Felkel added. “I think he’s got to continue to show strength in New Hampshire. I don’t think he has to necessarily win New Hampshire — he’s not expected to — but he’s got to finish strong.”

Santorum lacks the kind of sophisticated infrastructure and resources his rivals enjoy in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/can-rick-santorum-maintain-his-momentum/