Gingrich, who has been trailing in the most recent polls, is hoping for a long-shot win, but he has promised to keep campaigning even if he loses, and by Monday night his campaign was already downplaying the importance of doing well in the state.
His persistence raises the prospect of a long-drawn-out battle for the nomination. The eventual nominee will get the chance to take on Democratic President Barack Obama in the November election.
Romney is planning to go Wednesday to Minnesota, which is holding a caucus next week, and Wednesday night to Nevada, which has a caucus Saturday. Gingrich is planning to head to Nevada soon after addressing his supporters tonight.
Going into today’s voting, Romney had a substantial lead in the polls; Gingrich was in second place, with former Senator Santorum and Texas Representative Paul trailing far behind.
The prize in Florida’s winner-take-all primary is 50 delegates, more than any candidate has accumulated in the first three contests.
Gingrich has been trying to mobilize grass-roots conservatives, evangelicals, and Tea Party activists against Romney, arguing that Romney is too liberal a candidate.
Romney, who appeared to have momentum after winning the New Hampshire primary, became more combative after Gingrich’s subsequent victory in the South Carolina primary.
Accusing Gingrich of not having the temperament to be president and of being an “influence-peddler,” Romney unleashed a flood of attack ads in Florida, far outspending Gingrich; he dispatched surrogates to Gingrich’s events; and he challenged Gingrich in two debates.
This morning he defended his use of negative campaign ads, saying he will not hesitate to fire when fired upon.
“I’ll tell you, if you attack me, I’m not going to just sit back, I’m going to fight back and I’m going to fight back hard,” Romney said at a press conference in Tampa.
“His comments most recently attacking me have been really quite sad and, I think, painfully revealing about the speaker and what he’s willing to say and do to try and take the nomination,” Romney added. “So I just can’t stand back and let him say those things about me without responding.”
Gingrich also campaigned in Florida today. Combative as usual, he said the race for the nomination wouldn’t be decided until summer “unless Romney drops out.”
More than 600,000 Floridians voted before the polls opened, either by absentee or early ballot, exceeding the figure from four years ago, and raising the possibility of a record turnout. Vote totals in the three contests to date -- Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina -- have all been records.
Santorum and Paul both looked ahead today, campaigning in Colorado. The state has caucuses on Feb. 7, the same day as Minnesota.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
