WASHINGTON —  Republican presidential candidates are reacting to today's unexpectedly upbeat employment report, while continuing to fault President Barack Obama for his handling of the economy.
 

Mitt Romney says there is good news in today's Labor Department report, which showed employers added 200,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent. But he says "35 consecutive months of unemployment above 8 percent is no cause for celebration."
 

Rick Santorum says the improvement in the job picture came "despite the president's jobs policy," and suggested that it might have to do with voters' optimism that a Republican would win the White House.
 

Newt Gingrich dismissed the job gains as inadequate, saying there are still 1.7 million fewer Americans going to work than when Obama was elected.
 

Most of the GOP hopefuls are campaigning today in New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday's primary.

But with polls showing Romney with a comfortable lead in the state, the former Massachusetts governor is looking ahead to the next contest. He's in South Carolina, which holds its primary later this month.
 

A Time/CNN/ORC poll finds Romney in front in South Carolina with
37 percent support, a 17-point gain since early December.

The same poll shows Santorum with a 15-point surge, nearly tying him with
Gingrich, who drops from 43 percent in early December to 18 percent.