“He finished fourth here last time, and if he hasn’t really done a lot of groundwork, it might be an uphill battle,” said South Carolina State Rep. Nathan Ballantine, who endorsed Romney’s last campaign. “So maybe you focus on New Hampshire and then head up to Nevada and Florida — things like that.”…

Perhaps even more worrying for Romney, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint — whose endorsement is likely to carry more weight than anyone else’s among the state’s conservative voters — wavered when asked if he would commit to backing the former Massachusetts governor again, as he did in 2008.

And although Romney was an early and potent supporter of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s gubernatorial run, he wasn’t alone, and few Republicans in the state expect Haley to feel compelled to return the favor.

“I find it very unlikely — given the level of support Gov. Haley got from other presidential contenders — that she’d support Romney this time,” said South Carolina GOP consultant Wesley Donehue, a key player in Romney’s 2008 bid, who is weighing offers from other likely candidates. “Haley Barbour directed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Nikki Haley, and since it was a close race, you could say that Nikki Haley would not be governor of South Carolina without Haley Barbour.”