Romney Hails A 'Great Victory' In Florida


Mitt Romney has won a landslide victory in Florida, turning round his campaign to position himself as the strongest contender for the Republican nomination to fight this year's US presidential election.

Returns from nearly half of Florida's precincts showed Mr Romney with 47% of the vote, to his main rival Newt Gingrich's 31%.
"Thank you FL!" Mr Romney tweeted minutes after the race was called. "While we celebrate this victory, we must not forget what this election is really about: defeating Barack Obama."
Speaking to cheering and flag-waving supporters, he said he was ready "to lead this party and our nation".

Mr Romney bounced back with strong debate performances and an aggressive attack against Mr Gingrich.
The contest in Florida reached new depths of negative campaigning, where Mr Romney and campaign groups spent $15m (£9.5m) trying to demolish Mr Gingrich, outspending the former House Speaker by five to one.
The aggressiveness of the Florida campaign was in marked contrast to Mr Romney's victory speech, where he aimed to strike a more gracious tone.
"A competitive primary does not divide us," he told supporters in Tampa. "It prepares us, and we will win."
In victory he turned his aim from Mr Gingrich on to Mr Obama.
"Leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses, Mr President," he said. "You were elected to lead. You chose to follow. Now it's time to get out of the way."
Florida is the first heavyweight state in the primary season, with two million people voting there compared to little more than 100,000 in Iowa, where the first contest was held.
Mr Gingrich has threatened to continue the fight all the way to the convention in Tampa in seven months.
The prospect of the former House Speaker "going rogue", in the words of one senior Republican, alarmed some in the party. That fear will have subsided considerably with Mr Romney's decisive victory in Florida.
But Mr Gingrich is not sounding any less belligerent.

"This will be a two-person race between the conservative leader Newt Gingrich and the Massachusetts moderate," he told supporters in Orlando.
A large banner hung over the rally proclaiming "46 States to Go".
Mr Gingrich said he is in it for the long haul: "We are going to contest every place and we are going to win and we will be in Tampa as the nominee in August."
He may well mean it. Mr Gingrich revels in the role of fighting as underdog and has even more reason to resent Mr Romney now.
But he will be under enormous pressure not to continue this punishing battle for the good of the Republican party.
Former Republican candidate Herman Cain, who is now endorsing Mr Gingrich, told Sky News he was not worried by the prospect of a long nomination battle.
Two other candidates, former Senator Rick Santorum and congressman Ron Paul, remain in the Republican race, but they conceded Florida to their rivals and remain longshots for the nomination. Mr Santorum had 13% and Mr Paul 7%.
Mr Romney is generally considered the Republicans' strongest candidate to face Mr Obama, whose re-election prospects have been hurt by the slow US economic recovery.
But his shifting views on abortion and other social issues have led many Republicans to question his conservative credentials.

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