Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich slug it out in Florida

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Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are slugging it out in Florida ahead of the final national debate before the battleground state heads to the polls.

Mr Gingrich said his rival was part of the "old order", treating voters as though they were "stupid" and "timid".

But a pro-Romney support group released an attack ad that claimed Mr Gingrich's relationship with former President Ronald Reagan was overblown.

Florida is a key swing state that holds its nominating contest next Tuesday.

Thursday's debate in Jacksonville, Florida, is hosted by CNN and begins at 20:00 EST (01:00 GMT).

'Leadership and character'

The latest opinion polls show the two front-running candidates in a virtual tie.

But the stakes are high: a win in Florida has the potential to catapult one contender towards the eventual nomination.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul will appear alongside Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, and Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, in Thursday's debate.

On the campaign trail on Thursday the two leading candidates intensified their attacks on each other.

Mr Gingrich drew a bead on Mr Romney's past as a wealthy businessman, reminding voters gathered at a campaign stop that Mr Romney was "somebody who owns lots of stock in a part of Goldman Sachs that was explicitly foreclosing on Floridians".

"They're counting on us being too stupid, or too timid," Mr Gingrich added, suggesting that Mr Romney was hoping to prevent his rivals from divulging details of his relationships with organisations that have benefited from the economic recession.

Florida accounts for almost a quarter of home foreclosures in the US and the state's unemployment rate - at 9.9% - remains above the national average of 8.5%.

Meanwhile Mr Romney, highlighting Mr Gingrich's chequered tenure as Republican Speaker of the House in the 1990s, asked voters whether they "really need someone who is part of the culture of Washington for the last 35 years to go there again and continue".

In recent attack ads, Mr Romney has portrayed his rival as a "DC insider" and a new advert, released by a group of supporters known as a super political action committee (PAC) takes aim at Mr Gingrich's vaunted relationship with former President Ronald Reagan.

"From debates, you'd think Newt Gingrich was Ronald Reagan's vice-president," the ad says.

"On leadership and character, Gingrich is no Ronald Reagan."

Mr Gingrich recounted his interaction with Reagan, telling supporters at a campaign event that former First Lady Nancy Reagan "said that Ronald Reagan's torch had been passed to me".

"I was carrying out the values that he believed in," he added.