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Mitt Romney rolls in Florida

Campaign 2012

THIS STORY APPEARED IN

February 01, 2012|By Michael Levenson and Matt Viser

Mitt Romney was cheered last night in Tampa after winning yesterdays Florida… (David L. Ryan/Globe Staff )

TAMPA - Mitt Romney, backed by relentless attack ads, vocal support from the Republican establishment, and his own willingness to adopt a more aggressive tone, trounced Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary last night, gaining the upper hand as the race scatters to the seven states that vote over the next month.

Rolling up wide margins among women, the affluent, moderates, and Hispanics, Romney last night won 46 percent of the vote, to 32 percent for Gingrich, 13 percent for Rick Santorum, and 7 percent for Ron Paul.

Ten days after his crushing loss in the South Carolina primary raised fresh doubts about his candidacy, Romney’s resounding victory in the biggest and most diverse of the early primary states gives him the opportunity to consolidate restive factions of the party and emerge, finally, as the consensus choice for the Republican nomination.

Romney focused most of his victory-night speech on President Obama, indicating he is eager to move beyond the divisive primary and unite the party behind him, even as Gingrich vowed to fight on to the convention in August.

“My leadership will end the Obama era and begin a new era of American prosperity,’’ Romney said, surrounded by his wife, Ann, and four of his five sons. “Together we will build an America where hope is a new job with a paycheck, not a faded word on a bumper sticker.’’

Gingrich’s supporters held signs that read “46 States to Go’’ - sending a message of determination and defiance in the face of Romney’s win. Gingrich himself did not congratulate Romney on his win.

“It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, Newt Gingrich, and the Massachusetts moderate,’’ Gingrich, accompanied by his wife, Callista, and two daughters, said in Orlando. “We are going to contest every place, and we are going to win, and we will be in Tampa as the nominee in August.’’

But Romney’s victory last night showed his ability to capture broad support.

He won South Florida, where he lost four years ago to John McCain, and won the vote-rich Interstate 4 corridor, which runs from Tampa, through Orlando, to Daytona Beach. Gingrich won several smaller, rural counties along the conservative Florida panhandle, and won among very conservative voters. He split Tea Party supporters with Romney, according to exit polls.

Romney’s victory completes a swift reversal of fortune from 10 days ago, when Gingrich triumphed in the South Carolina primary, striking fear into the Romney campaign and renewing doubts about Romney’s ability to capture the nomination.