Romney takes Florida

Mitt Romney embraced a killer instinct and leveraged a dominant political machine to crush chief rival Newt Gingrich in Florida’s Republican presidential primary.

It was a remarkable turnaround for a candidate who lost big just 10 days earlier in South Carolina. “I stand ready to lead this party and our nation,” a jubilant Romney told cheering supporters on Tuesday night, claiming a resounding victory in a state that rejected his White House bid in 2008.
Romney was beaten down as he came into Florida after Gingrich trounced him in South Carolina. The former House speaker’s triumph fueled a wave of momentum that threatened to unite anti-Romney conservatives in Florida and beyond.

Recognising the threat, Romney had hatched a new strategy even before the South Carolina loss was official.

It would be the end of nice-guy Romney, the man who had usually saved his sharpest barbs for President Barack Obama and let his allies run the attack ads. From the start of the Florida campaign, voters here witnessed Romney’s new go-for-the-jugular approach on their television sets, debate stages, and even at Gingrich’s campaign stops.“If you’re attacked, I’m not going to just sit back,” Romney said.

It wasn’t just Romney’s attack mode — and efforts to undercut Gingrich’s character — that guided him to victory.

He also was sitting on a ton of cash for an extensive statewide campaign, giving him enormous advantages in a massive state with 10 media markets. Romney and his allies ultimately poured roughly $16 million into Florida television advertising. Restore Our Future, the “super” political action committee supporting Romney, began running Florida ads in mid-December. The candidate and the super PAC also launched an aggressive campaign to court absentee and early voters.
Gingrich was overmatched in Florida on all those fronts. He and his allies turned their attention to the state several weeks after Romney’s team had begun its work. He hired locals just a month before the election. And he never had the money to compete. Gingrich’s fiery demeanor and Ronald Reagan comparisons turned out to be no match for Romney’s organisation and newfound aggression.

Gingrich not giving up

The Florida polls might be swinging in Romney’s favour, but Gingrich is defiant. On Tuesday, he predicted the race would continue for another six months regardless of the Florida results. “Unless Romney drops out earlier,” he quipped.