Romney surges in Florida
Double-digit lead on Gingrich
LUTZ, FLA. Mitt Romney stormed Sunday toward a likely victory in Florida that would make him favourite for the Republican presidential nomination, but rival Newt Gingrich promised a bitter fight all the way to the August convention.
Two days before Floridians vote, polls showed Romney pulling clear in the state after his campaign team went on the offensive, unleashing blistering ads painting Gingrich as unethical and unfit for office.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and millionaire venture capitalist considered the party establishment’s favourite, was leading Gingrich by 15 points in Florida, 42 per cent to 27 per cent, according to an Nbc/marist poll. A new Miami Herald poll showed Gingrich behind by 11 points.
Hoping to finish off his rival, Romney renewed his assault before a crowd in an affluent Naples shopping centre.
“The reason that Speaker Gingrich has been having a hard time in Florida is that people of Florida have watched the debates, have listened to the speaker, have listened to the other candidates and have said, ‘You know what? Mitt Romney’s the guy we’re going to support,’” he said.
Despite the polls, Gingrich said he expected a close race in Florida, which will be key in the November general election, pitting President Barack Obama against the eventual Republican nominee.
After attending church services in this community north of Tampa, a fiery Gingrich insisted “the election will be substantially closer than the two polls” suggest.
With time running out for Gingrich, he turned to the national fight. “Romney has got a very big challenge in trying to get a majority at the convention,” he said. “We will go all the way to the convention, and I believe the Republican Party will not nominate a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase moderate from Massachusetts.”
Romney, who has switched positions on abortion and is now pro-life, has had to fend off lingering doubts over his conservative credentials dating back to his time as governor of liberal Massachusetts.
Gingrich, 68, shocked the party establishment when he thumped Romney, 64, in South Carolina earlier this month, but his support has been sink-
“WE NEED SOMEBODY … TO SHAKE UP THE ESTABLISHMENT.”
SARAH PALIN
ing fast in Florida, and his opponent now appears to be the one with all the momentum.
A crucial role is being played by Christian conservative Rick Santorum, who won the first state of Iowa but whose campaign has been flagging since.
Gingrich insisted Sunday that the only reason he trailed the more moderate Romney was because of his rival’s “relentlessly negative campaign” and because Santorum, by staying in the race, was splitting the conservative vote.
“The fact is, when you combine the Santorum vote and the Gingrich vote ... the conservative combined would clearly beat Romney,” he told ABC talk show This Week.
Gingrich’s campaign got a weekend boost when he received an endorsement from former rival Herman Cain. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, a favourite of the ultraconservative Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, also weighed in, telling supporters to “Vote for Newt” in Florida.
“We need somebody who is engaged in sudden and relentless reform and is not afraid to shake up the establishment,” Palin told Fox News.
“They want to crucify him because he’s tapped into that average, everyday American Tea Party, grassroots movement that has said, ‘Enough is enough’ of the establishment.”
Gingrich has sought to rally support by showcasing his conservative credentials, arguing that only a true conservative like himself can beat Obama.
“We nominated a moderate in ’96 and we lost,” he said Saturday. “We nominated a moderate in 2008 and we lost. Only a solid conservative can debate Barack Obama and win.”
Seizing on Gingrich’s precarious position, Romney’s ad had 1997 news footage from when Gingrich became the first Speaker reprimanded by the House. Gingrich was accused of dozens of violations, including a claim of tax-exempt status for his college course.
Romney has touted his business experience as being better suited to the tasks of creating jobs and bringing strong growth to a lacklustre U.S. economy — and has poured scorn on Gingrich’s background as a Washington lawmaker. But Romney’s own business record has come under fire, as has his immense wealth and low tax rates.