Mitt Romney had a bad day yesterday. A slew of new polls in South Carolina which votes on Saturday, show that Romney has fallen behind Newt Gingrich. If Romney wins the first test in the South, the nomination would effectively be his. But if he loses, the race is still on. Then it was announced that a re-count shows that Romney actually came second in the Iowa caucus to Rick Santorum – damaging the notion that he is sweeping all before him. On Thursday, too, Rick Perry dropped out of the race – which means that the conservative vote will now only be split two ways, between Santorum and Gingrich. Finally, the day ended with a television debate in South Carolina. And that didn’t go too well for Romney either.

The race for the White House: what’s next after Iowa

Will Mitt Romney secure the Republican candidacy? How far will the economy determine the course of the US election? Is Obama’s position looking weak or is he poised for a better second term? Anna Fifield, White House correspondent, and Edward Luce, chief US commentator, join Gideon Rachman for a discussion of what’s next after Iowa.