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Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich face off in Florida vote Florida primary: Romney eyes win over Gingrich
(about 1 hour later)
Florida residents have begun voting in the state's Republican primary as rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich look to capitalise on earlier wins. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is hoping for a big win over Newt Gingrich in Florida's high-stakes primary election.
Mr Romney has surged ahead in the Florida polls, leading Mr Gingrich by 15 points in the most recent survey. The former Massachusetts governor had a solid double-digit lead in eve-of-vote opinion polls in the Sunshine State.
The other hopefuls, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, have abandoned campaigning in Florida, making it in effect a race between two candidates. The swing state, which could prove pivotal in November's election, is the fourth and largest state so far to hold a nominating contest.
Hispanic and retired voters make up key voting blocs in the state. The candidates are vying to challenge Barack Obama for the White House.
Both Mr Romney and Mr Gingrich are looking for increased momentum after early primaries split wins among three different candidates. The winner in Florida will take 50 delegates out of 1,144 needed to win the presidential nomination at the Republican convention in August.
Polling stations are open from 07:00 to 19:00 (12:00-00:00 GMT). Early voting has been allowed for the past 10 days, and it is estimated that 600,000 people have already voted. 'Painfully revealing'
Republicans are vying to oust Barack Obama from the White House in November. Trailing way behind, the other two hopefuls, Texas congressman Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, have abandoned Florida to campaign in other states.
Primaries and caucuses will be held in every US state to pick a Republican candidate until the eventual winner is crowned at the party's convention in August. In Florida, Mitt Romney's wealth has been an issue. So is being rich now a negative even in a race on the right of politics?
'Just getting started' Many in Florida, as across the US, feel betrayed by the system. In this state, incomes rose as new properties sprouted out of the ground, but now one in every 360 homes is in foreclosure. Houses prices have plummeted. There seems no end in sight.
Mr Gingrich scored a resounding victory in South Carolina's primary earlier this month, but his momentum has since been stymied in the face of a Romney fight-back. Newt Gingrich is an angry politician and he's picking up on a sense of resentment that some of the elite (a favourite word in America at the moment) have escaped crash and crisis - and indeed have made money out of it.
Both candidates criss-crossed Florida on Monday in a final hunt for votes. Mr Gingrich's attacks have not stopped Mr Romney surging ahead, and that may tell you something. But there is a deep, inchoate, slow-burning anger in America. The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street have both tapped into that - but so far no politician has harnessed its power.
Mr Gingrich outlined for supporters what his first day as president would look like
"My goal would be by the end of that first day, about the time that President Obama arrives back in Chicago, that we will have dismantled about 40% of his government," Mr Gingrich told voters in Jacksonville as part of his stump speech. Polling stations close at 19:00 (00:00 GMT).
Mr Romney finished his day of campaigning at The Villages, a retirement community that has become a popular political stop. href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/fl/florida_republican_presidential_primary-1597.html" >A polling average placed Mr Romney at least 13 points ahead of Mr Gingrich on the eve of the vote.
The former Massachusetts governor had attacked Mr Gingrich throughout last week but spent most of the rally focusing on Mr Obama. But his advantage may be as much as 20 points, according to a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/offices/50643.html" >Suffolk University/7NEWS poll released on Monday.
Reagan's son campaigns In a sign of mounting confidence, Mr Romney cancelled a final campaign event that had been scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Several surveys released on Sunday gave Mr Romney a lead of between five and 16 points. Mr Gingrich, a former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, launched a last-minute flurry of local television interviews and appearances at polling stations in Orlando and elsewhere.
But Mr Gingrich vowed to continue his campaign in the Sunshine State and beyond, attacking Mr Romney's conservative credentials. Correspondents say a Romney win on Tuesday would be unlikely to kill the Gingrich candidacy, but could give the former governor unstoppable momentum.
"On big philosophical issues, he is for all practical purposes a liberal and I am a conservative and that's what this fight is going to be about all the way to the convention," he told CBS News on Monday. The two rivals have waged an increasingly bitter personal battle in Florida.
At least 1,114 delegates are needed to win the Republican nomination at the August convention. In Florida, there are 50 delegates at stake. Mr Romney mockingly told a large crowd in Dunedin on Monday: "I know, it's sad. He's [Mr Gingrich's] been flailing around a bit trying to go after me for one thing or the other, you just watch it and you shake your head. It's been kind of painfully revealing."
"This race is just getting started," Martin Baker, Gingrich's national political director, told reporters, saying there was "a long way to go" before the nomination was decided. In a state with many Jewish retirees, Mr Gingrich said on Monday that Mr Romney, as governor of Massachusetts, had vetoed funding for kosher meals under the Medicare programme for the elderly.
The former House speaker also campaigned with former President Ronald Reagan's son Michael on Monday, hoping to strengthen his campaign's ties to the revered Republican leader's legacy. Sarah Palin's support
href="/news/special/world/us_and_canada/12/politics_jargon_buster/css/main.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> US politics glossary Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of political terms:
war
Air war The battle between candidates to get as much advertising on television and radio as possible. In recent years, online adverts, which are cheaper and can be more carefully targeted, have grown increasingly important. href="/news/world-us-canada-15725457">Glossary in full Future contests 		Mr Romney, 64, has been the front-runner for much of the race, but was thrashed by his rival in South Carolina's primary earlier this month.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum left Florida over the weekend to be at the hospital bedside of his three-year-old daughter, who has a rare genetic condition. href="/news/special/world/us_and_canada/12/politics_jargon_buster/css/main.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> US politics glossary Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of political terms:
war
Air war The battle between candidates to get as much advertising on television and radio as possible. In recent years, online adverts, which are cheaper and can be more carefully targeted, have grown increasingly important. href="/news/world-us-canada-15725457">Glossary in full
Rather than return to Florida, he will campaign in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri and Nevada over the next two days. The former governor has since overturned his rival's lead after two muscular debate performances and a blitz of attacks.
Libertarian Texas congressman Ron Paul, meanwhile, is already focusing on Nevada. Mr Romney and his allies have pumped more than $14m (£9m) into Florida TV advertising, mainly attacking Mr Gingrich, whose campaign and supporters could only spend about $3m in reply.
Mr Gingrich picked up the endorsement on Saturday night of former rival Herman Cain, who dropped out of the Republican race in December. The Romney campaign has sought to portray Mr Gingrich as an erratic, Washington influence-peddler.
The former House speaker is portraying himself as the only viable conservative in the race. Mr Gingrich, 68, a former Georgia congressman, has accused Mr Romney - a private equity tycoon and one of the richest ever US presidential candidates - of being a closet liberal who is trying to buy his way to the White House.
Mr Romney has struggled to dispel misgivings among some Republicans about his political record as governor of the liberal state of Massachusetts and his Mormon faith. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has urged Florida voters to back Mr Gingrich, and keep the contest going.
In the past, Mr Romney has adopted a pro-choice stance on abortion, switched positions on gay rights and pushed through a healthcare reform in Massachusetts that was the template for President Obama's overhaul of the system nationally. A victory for Mr Romney in the Sunshine State would be his second, including the New Hampshire primary, since the race began earlier this month with Iowa's caucuses.
The next contest after Florida will be Nevada on Saturday. Mr Romney has a better-funded campaign, a superior national organisation and the backing of much of the Republican establishment. A series of polls has indicated he stands the best chance of beating Barack Obama.
But he has struggled to dispel misgivings among some conservatives about his Mormon faith and political record as governor of a liberal state.
In the past, Mr Romney has switched stances on abortion, gay rights and gun control, and passed a healthcare reform in Massachusetts that was the template for President Obama's overhaul of the system nationally.
The next contest after Florida will be on Saturday in Nevada, which Mr Romney won easily during his first run for the White House in 2008.