Newt Gingrich has held on to his lead ahead of South Carolina's primary to pick a Republican candidate to take on Barack Obama in November's elections.
Despite an ex-wife's claim that Mr Gingrich wanted an open marriage, he was up to 6% ahead of Mitt Romney in eve-of-vote opinion polls.
Former Massachusetts Governor Romney, whose ratings dipped in recent days, said the race was "neck and neck".
Saturday's election is a crucial test for the four remaining candidates.
Primaries and caucuses will be held in every US state over the next few months to pick a Republican nominee before the eventual winner is anointed at the party convention in August.
Chuck Norris endorsementIn a poll published on Friday from Clemson University, Mr Gingrich led in South Carolina was first on 32%, with Mr Romney on 26%, although 20% were undecided.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul was third on 11% and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum at 9%.
In South Carolina, as in Iowa and New Hampshire, voters are finding it hard to pick one anti-Mitt, conservative candidate to get behind.
The opinion polls suggest that Newt Gingrich is the obvious choice. But he worries some. It's not that he is a recent convert to Roman Catholicism that's the trouble.
It is that he is only a fairly recent convert to uxorious faithfulness. He's on his third marriage. But perhaps it is not quite so bad for him as it could be.
Central to the evangelical message is that we are all in need of forgiveness. The possibility of redemption is at the heart of the faith. Lucky old Newt.
The man in danger is Mitt. He didn't win in Iowa. If he doesn't win here he will have lost his unique selling point: that he feels like a winner. In politics, if an electorate lose faith in a front-runner there is no redemption, not even in the Bible Belt.
On Friday, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, the latest Republican to endorse Mr Romney, campaigned with him in South Carolina.
Mr Romney demanded that Mr Gingrich release documents relating to a past investigation against him for wrongdoing.
In 1997, Mr Gingrich became the first House of Representatives Speaker to be censured for ethics violations, and was fined $300,000 (�193,000).
Mr Gingrich, who has put Mr Romney on the defensive in recent days by urging him to release his tax returns, called his opponent's attempt to turn the tables a "panic attack".
"Tomorrow's going to be a very, very important day," Mr Gingrich told a packed campaign rally in Orangeburg, adding he was hoping to "win a shockingly big victory tomorrow".
The former House Speaker was buoyed by his own endorsement on Friday from none other than action hero Chuck Norris, who called Mr Gingrich "the best man left on the battlefield".
Mr Romney swept into South Carolina more than a week ago buoyed by a double-digit opinion-poll lead, after his resounding victory in New Hampshire's primary and a near-tie in Iowa's caucuses.
FightbackBut his aura of inevitability has since looked vulnerable as two muscular TV debating performances helped Mr Gingrich stage a fightback.
During Thursday's forum on CNN, Mr Gingrich skilfully turned a question about adultery into an attack on the media, drawing a standing ovation.
That debate was preceded by an interview his second wife gave to ABC News in which she claimed he asked her to share him with his mistress, then his congressional aide, now his third wife.
Mr Romney, on the other hand, was jeered during the same TV forum as he gave an evasive answer on how much of his tax returns he would disclose.
The private equity tycoon, who has an estimated wealth of up to $270m, said he would not release the forms until April, and declined to specify how many tax years would be disclosed.
Mr Romney has been on damage-limitation mode this week since revealing he pays a tax rate of about 15%, well below what most Americans pay, and after it emerged he has millions of dollars offshore in the Cayman Islands.
'Radioactive'Some Conservative Republicans view Mr Romney with suspicion because of his Mormon faith and political record as governor of liberal Massachusetts, but he is also admired for his unabashed championing of the free market.
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The battle between candidates to get as much advertising on television and radio as possible. In recent years, online adverts, which are cheaper and can be more carefully targeted, have grown increasingly important.
He benefited in the first two nominating contests this month as the conservative vote fractured between Mr Gingrich, Mr Santorum and Rick Perry.
But Texas Governor Perry dropped out of the race on Thursday and endorsed Mr Gingrich.
Mr Santorum, who has trailed in the polls since his surprise photo finish with Mr Romney in Iowa's caucuses, made his final pitch to South Carolina's voters on Friday, labelling Mr Gingrich "radioactive".
But the Christian conservative, who lost his 2006 Senate race by 18 points, is trailing in polls and failing to draw big crowds at campaign events, despite endorsements from Christian evangelical leaders.
The Ron Paul campaign, meanwhile, is already looking ahead to contests beyond South Carolina.
The Texas congressman has a devoted following but some of his libertarian views, such as plans to axe defence spending, place him outside the Republican mainstream and he is viewed as a longshot candidate.
The economy is the top issue in this election, as President Obama seeks a second term amid voter frustration at the pace of economic recovery from the recession that began in 2007 during the tenure of George W Bush and ended in 2009.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-us-canada-16663326
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