Gingrich fights to stay in race as polls show rivals neck-and-neck in south Newt Gingrich took a swipe at Mitt Romney, who made a verbal gaffe about 'cheesy' grits. Photograph: Sean Gardner/Getty Images Two of the candidates in the Republican presidential race, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, were preparing for a confrontation in the Deep South Monday night on the eve of make-or-break primary contests. Gingrich, with wins so far only in South Carolina and his home state of Georgia, needs to emerge victorious in at least one of the two states in contention in the South Tuesday, Alabama or Mississippi, to keep his hopes alive. The two are due to take the stage at the historic Alhambra theatre, Birmingham, Alabama, for a forum organised by the Alabama Republican party. The forum pits the two canidates - both vying to be the main challenger to Mitt Romney - directly against one another. The other two candidates, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, declined to attend the televised event. A Gingrich supporter, Todd Loehr, 52, who works in advertising, acknowledged that his candidate will probably have to quit if he fails to win either Alabama or Mississippi. I will not tell him to what to do. He has my support as long as he is in the race," Loehr said. Although Gingrich boasts he will stay in the race until the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida, in August, if he cannot take either of the southern states, he is unlikely to pick up any others and he would effectively be out of the running. Gingrich has been campaigning on keeping gas prices low. He has also been exploiting his southern roots, taking a swipe at Romney, who, on the campaign trail, made a verbal gaffe about "cheesy" grits. Unlike one of my opponents, I have had grits before. If you don't understand grits, you probably don't understand the south," Gingrich said. Romney, favourite to eventually win the Republican nomination to take on Barack Obama for the White House in November, is hoping for a win to stop the momentum Santorum has built after three wins last Tuesday and Kansas on Saturday. Just as importantly, he wants to stop Santorum's momentum ahead of next week's Illinois primary. Santorum told Bloomberg TV: "Hopefully after Tuesday, this will be a two-person race, and we can get down to business of deciding whether we want a conservative or a moderate to go up against Barack Obama." Romney, who turned 65 on Monday, campaigned in Alabama but is to spend election day in Hawaii, the third state holding a Republican contest. Romney is favourite to win there easily and pick up more delegates to the convention to add to his growing tally. A PPP poll published on Monday shows Romney at 31% in Alabama, Gingrich at 30%, Santorum 29% and Ron Paul 8%. PPP's poll in Mississippi puts Gingrich at 33%, Romney 31%, Santorum 27% and Paul 7%. An ARG poll put Gingrich narrowly ahead in Alabama, on 34%, Romney on 31%, Santorum 24% and Paul 6%. In Mississippi, ARG put Romney just ahead on 34%, Gingrich 32%, Santorum 22% and Paul 8%. Senator Lindsey Graham, from South Carolina, said at the weekend: "If Romney does well, wins either Mississippi or Alabama and wins Illinois, then I think it's virtually impossible for this thing to continue much beyond early May." Romney has won 17 of 26 state or territory votes, Santorum seven, Gingrich two and Paul none.