SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Can Mitt Romney, a Michigan-born Mormon who governed with Democrats in liberal Massachusetts, score a knockout in Christian, conservative South Carolina in next Saturday's primary and become all but certain to claim his party's presidential nomination?

Yes, and part of the reason is this: You can't believe all you've heard or read about the state. South Carolina politics aren't as conservative or monolithic -- i.e. dominated by born-again or evangelical Christians -- as the state's political reputation suggests.

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