Yesterday, an increasingly confident Romney openly mocked Gingrich, saying he saw him on television “describing his excuses, and why he wasn’t doing so well here in Florida.’’
“He’s looking for some kind of excuse, but I’m afraid the real reason he hasn’t been successful connecting with the people of Florida is because of his message,’’ Romney told several hundred voters here in a parking lot at Casa Marin Restaurant.
Gingrich, acknowledging he is facing a “very tough campaign here,’’ nonetheless vowed to press on through the spring and to the national convention in August.
“I am in fact the legitimate heir to the Republican movement - not some liberal from Massachusetts,’’ Gingrich told hundreds of voters in a strip-mall parking lot in The Villages, an enclave of senior communities in Central Florida.
A win in Florida - the largest and most diverse of the early primary states - would put Romney back in control for the eventual nomination after a turbulent first month of the process. Already benefiting from an immense war chest, far-reaching organization, and support from the Republican establishment, Romney is in a position to steal Gingrich’s most lethal weapon - momentum - as the race moves to a larger, more costly national stage.
Seven states will be voting over the next month and Super Tuesday, with its 10 contests, looms on March 6.
The race in Florida has culminated with a barrage of negative campaigning from Romney and a supportive super PAC that has seemed to overwhelm Gingrich and frustrate his supporters.
“It’s been the nastiest primary in 50 years in the business I’ve ever seen, so I’m disappointed,’’ said Paul Senft, a Republican National Committee member from Florida and a Gingrich supporter. “That’s why I think there’s a backlash right now, and I’m saying both have done some negative things. It’s just one has 10 times more money to do it with.’’
