<p> Leading Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney sparred over immigration policies as the latest surveys showed the two locked in a tight race before Tuesday's primary in Florida.<br /><br />Bouncing off his South Carolina primary victory, former House speaker Gingrich has surged to match former Massachusetts governor Romney in polls in Florida, a state in which 50 delegates are at stake in the winner-takes-all contest.<br /><br />Romney once led Gingrich by double-digit margins in Florida, and his campaign and its allies have been blanketing the airwaves in recent days with ads that are highly critical of Gingrich.<br /><br />A CNN/Opinion Research Centre poll released Wednesday found Romney leading Gingrich by two points, 36 to 34 percent, among likely voters. That's within the polls margin of error.<br /><br />The other two candidates are far behind, with Rick Santorum at 11 percent and Paul at 9 percent, with 7 percent unsure of who they'll vote for.<br /><br />A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday also found likely voters favouring Romney over Gingrich, 36 percent to 34 percent.<br /><br />Public Policy Polling found Gingrich further ahead among likely primary voters - with 38 percent support - and Romney in second place with 33 percent. That poll, released Monday, represented a 12 point gain for Gingrich, and an 8 point drop for Romney in just one week.<br /><br />Only one survey - done by the American Research Group - found Romney leading Gingrich by a wider margin of seven points. The survey of likely Republican primary voters showed Romney with 41 percent and Gingrich with 34 percent.<br /><br />The candidates have also been trying to win the Hispanic vote, which could make the difference in a tight race. The one million Cuban-Americans concentrated in South Florida tend to vote Republican.<br /><br />According to an ABC News/Univision survey released Wednesday, Romney has a 15 point lead over Gingrich among Hispanic voters. Romney took 35 percent of respondents' support compared to 20 percent for Gingrich, while 20 percent of Hispanic voters remained undecided.<br /><br />During Thursday's debate, Gingrich charged Romney' with being the most anti-immigrant candidate whose immigration policy would result in the deportation of grandmothers who are in the country illegally.<br /><br />Romney, who has advocated for "self-deportation", a policy that involves making economic conditions so difficult for undocumented workers that they choose to leave the country to find better opportunities in turn accused Gingrich of using "highly-charged epithets" irresponsibly.</p>
<p> Leading Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney sparred over immigration policies as the latest surveys showed the two locked in a tight race before Tuesday's primary in Florida.<br /><br />Bouncing off his South Carolina primary victory, former House speaker Gingrich has surged to match former Massachusetts governor Romney in polls in Florida, a state in which 50 delegates are at stake in the winner-takes-all contest.<br /><br />Romney once led Gingrich by double-digit margins in Florida, and his campaign and its allies have been blanketing the airwaves in recent days with ads that are highly critical of Gingrich.<br /><br />A CNN/Opinion Research Centre poll released Wednesday found Romney leading Gingrich by two points, 36 to 34 percent, among likely voters. That's within the polls margin of error.<br /><br />The other two candidates are far behind, with Rick Santorum at 11 percent and Paul at 9 percent, with 7 percent unsure of who they'll vote for.<br /><br />A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday also found likely voters favouring Romney over Gingrich, 36 percent to 34 percent.<br /><br />Public Policy Polling found Gingrich further ahead among likely primary voters - with 38 percent support - and Romney in second place with 33 percent. That poll, released Monday, represented a 12 point gain for Gingrich, and an 8 point drop for Romney in just one week.<br /><br />Only one survey - done by the American Research Group - found Romney leading Gingrich by a wider margin of seven points. The survey of likely Republican primary voters showed Romney with 41 percent and Gingrich with 34 percent.<br /><br />The candidates have also been trying to win the Hispanic vote, which could make the difference in a tight race. The one million Cuban-Americans concentrated in South Florida tend to vote Republican.<br /><br />According to an ABC News/Univision survey released Wednesday, Romney has a 15 point lead over Gingrich among Hispanic voters. Romney took 35 percent of respondents' support compared to 20 percent for Gingrich, while 20 percent of Hispanic voters remained undecided.<br /><br />During Thursday's debate, Gingrich charged Romney' with being the most anti-immigrant candidate whose immigration policy would result in the deportation of grandmothers who are in the country illegally.<br /><br />Romney, who has advocated for "self-deportation", a policy that involves making economic conditions so difficult for undocumented workers that they choose to leave the country to find better opportunities in turn accused Gingrich of using "highly-charged epithets" irresponsibly.</p>