Like South Carolina, which Gingrich won, North Florida is a conservative proving ground and a barometer of the party’s passions. Winning the region is considered crucial if Gingrich is to carry the state on Tuesday and overtake Romney in the race for the nomination.
Stretching from the Gulf Coast city of Pensacola in the panhandle to Jacksonville on the Atlantic, the area includes liberal Tallahassee yet is still one of the most Republican regions of the state, where Tea Party movement activists and Christian conservatives play an outsized role in elections.
In Macclenny, the seat of Baker County, 30 miles west of Jacksonville, Gingrich is the talk of the town. Lois Adcock, who works at Studio One salon, estimated that 8 out of 10 of her customers - who include cattle ranchers, corrections officers at nearby Florida State Prison, and laborers at Northeast Florida State Hospital - are voting for the former House speaker.
“I would say Newt Gingrich would have the pull in Baker County, based on what I see and what I hear,’’ Adcock said during a cigarette break.
Unlike Romney, she said, “Newt can talk on both levels, because in Baker County, you don’t have a lot of wealth. You’ve got a few, but we’re more just everyday workers, middle-class people. And I think he cares about the middle class.’’
The county’s unemployment rate is 10.4 percent, compared to 9.9 percent in the state as a whole and 8.5 percent nationally. This month, the Food Lion grocery store announced it was closing, forcing 38 employees to scramble for new work. Downtown, some shops are plastered with “For Rent’’ signs.
“Nobody in Washington cares about the poor people!’’ said Lou Webber Sr., 78, pounding his fist on the counter in his auto shop, Webber Tire, where business is down 35 percent since last year.
