Romney Has Forcefully Trampled in First in the Swamps of Florida

A mudslinging, aggressive attitude during TV debates, never-before-seen negative campaigning and more than $15 million spent on advertising — this is what Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, needed to once again change the course of the Republican primaries and to smite Newt Gingrich.

The former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who tries to portray himself as “the candidate of the people,” surprisingly triumphed during the last primary election, held in South Carolina. Hereupon, many questioned the chances of Romney, who was previously thought to be the most likely winner. The businessman/millionaire has now struck back: He got 46.4 percent of the vote in Florida, while Gingrich came in second with 31.9 percent.

Romney gained 50 delegates for the election convention to be held at the end of the summer, since according to the practice in Florida, “the winner takes all” — supporters are not divided according to how people voted.

For the absolute victory, the votes of 1,144 delegates are needed. Gingrich is trying his best to convince his followers that there is a lot of time left until the final decision is made. On Tuesday night, he gave his speech behind a board stating “We still have 46 states to go,” and he promised to carry through to the end of the competition.

According to the estimates of CNN, Romney has 84 delegates, Gingrich has 27, Ron Paul has 10 and Rick Santorum has eight so far.

The fourth contest did not reduce the competition

Rick Santorum and Ron Paul both decided to stay in the competition. After getting 13.4 percent of the vote, Santorum said that Gingrich could not use the chance that he got during his South Carolina victory; thus, he is not the “real conservative” who presents an alternative to Romney.

The more liberal Ron Paul, who is in last place at the moment with his 7 percent, is hoping for the support of the northern states, where young activists are preparing the ground for him.

On the other side, Gingrich is hoping for the support of the southern states. However, if he manages to get enough support from the South, he will be facing another major problem: He might not have sufficient funds to continue until the end of the campaign.

It is enough to compare the possibilities of Gingrich to Romney to see the evident problem: While the ex-governor spent $15.4 million on radio ads in Florida, the veteran speaker spent $3.7 million. The $5 million that Gingrich received from Sheldon Adelson’s donation through a SuperPAC in January is what helped him achieve his victory in South Carolina. Analysts say that Gingrich’s campaign might depend on whether Adelson is willing to support him financially again.

The power of money, words and money

According to the New York Times, while in Tampa, Gingrich said, referring to his financial constraints, that the power of the people will win over the power of money. He again tried to differentiate himself from Romney as much as possible, stating that he is building a campaign of the people, not a campaign of the Republican Party, the elite or Wall Street.

The Republican Party, according to press releases, was not happy with the popularity of Gingrich, who they assume to be unelectable and unpredictable. Other newspapers are worried for a different reason: What if the overly negative campaign affects the elections in November and hurts the whole of the party? According to statistics, the campaign ads that were featured in Florida were of 90-92 percent negative content.

The two candidates did not take it easy on each other: They criticized each other’s investments and Gingrich, referring to his immigration policy, even accused Romney of being willing to deport grandmothers.

Romney tried to answer general concerns about the Republican primaries during his speech in Tampa; he said that a tense competition is needed now to prepare for the election campaign against Barack Obama.