(already subscribe? log in).

In Fla., donations to Gingrich erase Romney’s edge

THIS STORY APPEARED IN

January 26, 2012|By Brian C. Mooney

(Page 3 of 3)

“The last thing that President Obama and his cronies want is Mitt Romney as an opponent - which explains their ‘all hands on deck’ approach for their strategy to ‘kill Romney,’ the same way they engaged in a campaign of personal destruction against Hillary Clinton,’’ Andrea Saul, a Romney campaign spokeswoman, said.

The Romney campaign may be getting some help in Florida from an unlikely source, a super PAC supporting Ron Paul, who is basically bypassing Florida. Endorse Liberty announced it will spend $1.4 million in Florida with what appears to be a mix of ads boosting Paul and attacking Gingrich, initial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission indicate.

Paul’s campaign is concentrating on caucus states and open primaries where independents can vote. Only Republicans may vote in the upcoming Florida contest.

The fourth candidate, Rick Santorum, is campaigning in the state but also holding back resources. Neither his campaign nor a pro-Santorum super PAC, Red White and Blue Fund, had purchased ads in Florida as of yesterday.

The clutter of ads, most of them negative, annoys some voters, said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida.

“Even though I think a lot of the general Republican electorate is really concerned about the candidates slicing and dicing each other, for the candidates they don’t have much choice but to tear their opponent down and move those people who are undecided.’’

The stakes next Tuesday are so high because most Republicans understand Florida’s importance in the general election, MacManus said.

“They realize if you can’t win Florida, you probably can’t win the White House,’’ she said.