AP looks at candidates who have failed to get on ballots.

GINGRICH: With accordion music playing in the background, a new web video from the Gingrich campaign goes after Mitt Romney for his Massachusetts background, tying him to Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, and speaking French. (Hat tip: Political Wire.)

The AP: “Under pressure from some in his own party, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich pulled back his public attacks on front-runner Mitt Romney - at least for now. Gingrich stuck to a largely subdued stump speech during two events Thursday in South Carolina's capital, focusing instead on his plans for saving Social Security, creating jobs and boosting domestic energy production. The often-combative Gingrich made no references to Romney, nor did he repeat his criticism of the former Massachusetts governor's record as a venture capitalist.”

PAUL: “Ron Paul's campaign chairman, Jesse Benton, tells the Huffington Post, that Paul is "committed to a numerical-based operation premised on finding value where others don't. It's the Money Ball of campaign strategies and it's rooted in, of all places, Obama's 2008 campaign,” Political Wire writes.

“Ron Paul may not be leading in the polls, but he’s first on the Internet,” The State writes. “The Texas congressman is the most searched for Republican presidential candidate in South Carolina, according to Google. But he’s followed closely by former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.”

PERRY: “Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who fared poorly in early debates, will take a break from the campaign trail Monday to concentrate on that night’s Fox News debate in Myrtle Beach,” The State writes. “‘It’s a big deal for us, a marker in the sand,’ said Katon Dawson, Perry’s S.C. advisor.”

ROMNEY: The New York Post gives Romney this headline: “Looking finer in Carolina.” Story: “A group of key South Carolina conservatives fell in line behind Mitt Romney yesterday, bolstering the former Massachusetts governor’s chances to win the first primary in Dixie. Three Republicans considered loyal to Sen. Jim DeMint — a key powerbroker in the state with ties to the Tea Party, but who has remained neutral — came out for Romney yesterday. In a stunning move, one of them, former state chair Barry Wynn, is a member of Rick Perry’s finance team.”

“Four years ago, GOP activist Dee Benedict lobbied hard to persuade South Carolina evangelicals to embrace Mitt Romney as a Republican presidential candidate, even if they were skeptical of his Mormon faith,” The State newspaper writes. “Today, four years into a Democratic presidential administration that she considers a disaster, Benedict has resisted the inclination to say ‘I told you so.’ But she takes some pleasure in hearing fellow conservative Christians say they have reversed themselves and are supporting Romney in 2012.”

“On the same day that a pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC started running TV ads in South Carolina critical of Mitt Romney’s work with Bain Capital, Romney arrived here at a motorcycle shop this morning, promising to restore the economy and produce jobs,” the Boston Globe writes. “The stop was part of a counter-offensive of the Romney team against criticism by both Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry that Bain under Romney’s leadership sometimes closed plants and left workers jobless.”

“The Tampa Bay Times reports on the new ad campaign in the state from the pro-Romney Super PAC, Restore our Future,” GOP 12 writes. Here’s ad: “Barack Obama knows four facts about Rick Santorum that you don't," says a woman narrator. "Santorum pushed for billions in wasteful pork, voting for the Bridge to Nowhere, a tea pot museum. Even an indoor rain forest. Santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times, increasing spending and debt by $3-trillion. And he even voted to let convicted felons vote. So how will Santorum beat Obama? Obama knows he can't."