Romney's rivals vie to be the sole conservative alternative Gingrich, coming off a fiery and widely praised performance in Monday night's debate, was particularly aggressive in suggesting that Santorum and Perry should bow out, arguing that a vote for either is essentially a vote for Romney because they can't win. Santorum noted that there have been two contests so far and he's beaten Gingrich in both, so he wasn't in any mood to take his advice. Perry lumped the two together and said both were Washington insiders. South Carolinians would come around to his outsider effort, he said. The inability of the candidates or voters to coalesce around a single conservative leaves in place the splintered dynamic that has enabled Romney to remain at the front of the field. The last-minute sniping made it appear increasingly unlikely that any of the three could break from the pack, potentially leaving Romney with a clear path to victory in Saturday's primary. "At this point, it's a low chance that anyone would truly consolidate conservative support," said Joel Sawyer, a former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party who until Monday was supporting former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr. Nobody has really been able to put a dent in Romney. The GOP race is playing out in much the same way it did in 2008, when Sen. John McCain defeated an equally divided conservative field in South Carolina and went on to capture the nomination. Sawyer said the contenders have spent so much time bashing one another that "this is a play for second . . . rather than going after the front-runner." With time running out, Gingrich argued Tuesday that he is the only candidate who has a realistic shot at beating Romney. Recent polls have showed Gingrich running ahead of Santorum and Perry in the Palmetto State. "Any vote for Santorum or Perry is, in effect, a vote to help Romney become the nominee," he said at an event at an art gallery in Florence on Tuesday morning. In an e-mail to supporters after the Monday debate titled "Newt's Back!!," his campaign argued that his standing-ovation-earning performance was a sign that only he has the chops to take on President Obama. Since defeating Obama is so important, what do we have to do to nominate someone who is conservative enough and tough enough and clear enough to defeat Obama? Gingrich said to reporters. But Santorum showed no sign of looking for an exit strategy, instead insisting that Gingrich is in no position to offer him advice. "I think someone who's lost two elections to me so far shouldn't be telling the person he's lost two elections to get out of the race," he said. Santorum came within eight votes of beating Romney in Iowa and barely edged Gingrich for fourth place in last week's New Hampshire primary.