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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads former House Speaker Newt Gingrich by two points in Florida, a margin well within a new poll's margin of error, reflecting a close race in the key primary.
Thirty-six percent of Republicans likely to vote in Florida's primary said they intend to vote for Romney; 34 percent would choose Gingrich, according to a CNN/TIME/ORC poll released Wednesday.
The poll underscores the tightness of what has essentially become a two-man race in the largest state yet to hold its nominating contest in the past month. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has seen his numbers plummet to 11 percent from 19 percent in CNN's last poll of Florida, conducted Jan. 13-17. Nine percent of Florida Republicans voiced support for Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who is not competing in earnest in Florida's primary.
The new data reflect the closeness of the race following Gingrich's win in the South Carolina primary last Saturday; Romney had led the former speaker by a 25-point margin in the previous version of this poll, a lead that's shrunk to two points, within the five percent margin of error of this survey.
The poll is the first statewide survey in Florida conducted completely after South Carolina's primary, in which Gingrich trounced Romney by 12 points, reviving his campaign and seemingly claiming the mantle of the candidate who presents a conservative alternative for Romney.
In the intervening days since that primary, the Romney campaign has spent millions on advertising assailing Gingrich's record, and a super PAC spending on Romney's behalf has spent millions more. A pro-Gingrich super PAC has also reserved millions in ads, but it's still dwarfed by the spending done by Romney forces in the state.
Moreover, Romney's been voicing sharper criticism of Gingrich and his record in Congress and advocacy work for Freddie Mac, most pointedly in a high-rated debate on Monday night in Florida.
To that end, the CNN poll suggests that Romney might have regained some footing against Gingrich in recent days. While Gingrich led Romney, 38 to 32 percent, in Sunday's polling, respondents on Monday and Tuesday were slightly more for Romney, 38 to 29 percent.
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Couldn't be better new for Obama. There is no way in the world that Americans can be THAT stupid as to put Newt Gingrich in the White House. Well, wait..... (remembers Bush x 2).
They were that stupid to put Obama in so anything is possible with voters who believe that Barry's change was for the better. His message of change was true, he changed a lot of things and thats why America is going down the drain.
This country is NOT going down the drain. I know right wing wackos like you would love to see it go down the drain. All you want is POWER and you would be willing to do anything to get it. You would gladly see this country destroyed as long as you have complete and total rule. This is why you cannot get along with and compromise with the Democrats.
The debt is taking us down the drain and neither party wants to stop it. It really does not matter if we are bankrupted by welfare or warfare.......... the end results will be the same. Both party's are about power.
The term "compromise" means both party's managed to steam shovel enough pork into the bill to choke a horse. Compromise is a joke between two lobby owned party's.
C'mon man, this country is circling the drain. The next big war is going to be that little shove that takes us in the proverbial debt sewer like WW II did with the Brisih Empire. WW I actually got the British in a heap of trouble, but it was WW II which finished it off. Any major conflict is going to balloon the debt and the whole house of cards is going to crash.
Truth is treason in the empire of lies. Freedom is fear only to the caged bird. Break out. Ron Paul.
The world is going down the drain. Fifty years ago, no one wanted someone to GIVE them anything. Now everyone is ENTITLED to something. Pick someone, and I mean anyone, they think they are entitled to something. Weather it be school or a good job or a decent car. Everyone has to pay his or her price to the gimmes of society. Why do so many get to just sit on the couch and say " Yea I can't GET a job. No one WILL hire me." Honestly if you can not find a job, your not looking, or your being to picky. Re-evaluate some priorities maybe. Dumb down your lifestyle, or step up and be one of those you seem to hate so much and do something thatt creates jobs and security for yourself. Just remember that that requires absolute devotion to work. Something needs to be done at 11 o'clock at night, your the one, or someone feels cheated because of an employee that did a poor job, you get to make them feel better about it, weather something for free, but you still have to pay the person that did a poor job. Then a 5 you don't get to go home and shrug of the day, you may go home, say hey to the wife and kids, scarfe down some food, then off to cut off a slice for the gov. from your company. Then cut off another slice for the gov. from yourself. Making something is hard, getting it is easy. Remember that before you complain about what you are given.
Phantom bravo.
Hmmm...even Ann Coulter has turned into a Romney fan, faced with the possibility of a Gingrich nomination...the Ann that said if Romney were nominated, Republicans would lose.
When so many of your own Party prefer a loss to Gingrich's nomination, those who support him should begin asking serious questions.
You had to go and mention Coulter, just when I had managed to blank out from my memory the fact that she exists.....
Sorry.
Cheesy, get back to us when Edwards is shown leading the family values impeachment charge against an incumbent President while he was engaged in more egregious behavior.
Most Dems couldn't care less what people do in their spare time provided it doesn't impair their ability to perform their jobs. It's only an issue becaue the Newter is a hypocrit and spends so much time denigrating the values of others. As for Newt's experience, self-aggrandizement and rank hyprocisy in both the public and private sectors (yeah, he wasn't lobbying for Fannie Mae, LOL) isn't much to rely on, is it?
If Romney wins, I don't want to hear anyone complaining. He says he will reverse the Obama health plan, yet there is mandatory health insurance in his state, that he put in place. So, he says one thing, and does just the opposite. How can you trust someone when they say one thing, and do just the opposite. People will say, "But he said". Look at his track record. it tells a different story.
I think the way he has explained it is that it should be a state-by-state decision. It worked in Massachusetts, but each state should decide for itself and that, if elected, he would mandate state-by-state choice by Executive Order. Since most Constitutional experts agree that would not be possible and that Congress would need to act, he's backed off from that position.
Because the people of Massachusetts wanted it, and as governor he did his job.
Being a governor of a single state is a whole different animal than being POTUS.
Goodness! Gingrich, the Open Family Values spokesman, only took the 1.6 million. He didn't fire anyone.
Romney, on the other hand created jobs for bankruptcy lawyers.
All in all,the stuck pig sounds like the worst choice.
Don't gamble on Gingrich.
There is no wealth distribution going on or proposed and it'd be nice if the "slow ones" would understand that.
If you make 50,000 per year and your neighbor makes 25 million per year, why would you want to pay a 25% rate of income tax while your neighbor pays 14.7% on his? All anyone is asking is that the extremely wealthy pay the same percentage that the rest of us pay.
No, we're asking that the extremely wealthy to pay a higher percentage than the poor. Perry's 10% flat or Herman's 9-9-9 nonsense would reduce Mitten's taxes even more while making the poorest Americans pay more. The result would be even less government revenue and even bigger deficits.
Lowering taxes and expecting government revenues to increase is insane. That's why it's called voodoo economics.
The taxes Mitt payed wasn't on income. Mitts income was zero. All the money he "made" was on holdings and subject to capital gains which is 15%
Bull. That's socialist crap. Take from the rich and give to the poor - how about take less from everybody, tax less and get the government out of everybody's pocket. Get rid of the spending, not oppress the people! Taxing anybody or everybody and particularly somebody more - that cyclical losing argument about how much more tax they're going to nail us on is brainwashing. Cut spending. Cut up the government credit cards - they're maxed out. Tax less. Give us our freedom back. Not more debt. It never ends. It won't end. We're standing on our heads. Turn over. Ron Paul.
This is insane. Why don't these super PAC's do something constructive with this money instead of spending it on these two idiots. They could put a good dent in the financial crisis that this country is in. But I guess it's more important to them to try to get the right person in office to cater to their needs.
If the GOP puts Gingrich up as their candidate the word "landslide" will not even be close to describing Obama's victory.
How many spite filled old white guys with short AND long term memory loss does the GOP think are out there????
Newt the family values republican and Mitt the used car salesperson. Gee wiz I like this match up.
Newts family values appear to be exactly what Jesus Christ specifically condemned james
This nation will elect whoever it thinks will let them crawl back into their warm fuzzy comfort zone and even if it's a wholly corrupt, cowardly, sniveling religious hypocrite like Gingrich, backed by the blasphemous cult that is his now chosen "church". Then again, should it surprise that a man with no morals like Gingrich would join the church that even to this day protects it's child raping priests? Is Newt hoping to get in on some of that action maybe?
Couldn't be better news for the country! Newt will trounce the "O" man and be light years more intelligent on every issue. There are no perfect people but all can come to a knowledge of the truth. Go Newt, GO!!!!!
Doesn't matter who wins the republican nomination, I will vote for anybody but Obummer. Don't listen to what he says, watch what he does. 4 more years and we will be a totally socialist country and in ruins.
ABO, Anyone But Obama.
You've given up. Ron Paul - hello?
Bullet trains?......maybe we can fast track one & get all the repub governors, starting with Walker on the first one..one way, out of the country! have a nice day.
PLEASE.....PLEASE....PLEASE.... Florida voters....DO NOT vote for Newt Gingrich!!!! He'll NEVER win the general election and we will be stuck with 4 more years of Obama!!
A guarantee for our kids lives to be ruined before they get a chance!!
What planet have you been living on Please, Please, Please
You don't vote for Newt because he is a Sociopath, that's why and Mittens doesn't have a snowballs chance.
How pathetic we have become as a nation. One candidate who has absolutely no idea what to do to help the average American, and is on a complete power trip. Another candidate that tried to get a president impeached for being immoral while he himself was having and extramarital affair. We conservatives don't have a prayer in this election. Do we actually believe that either one of these guys is capable of making a difference. You can't be serious if you do. Isn't there a better candidate out there? Come on Man! This sucks, the dems are laughing thier butts off right now.
That's exactly why you won't see any decent GOP candidates until 2016. I think Huntsman and Johnson only ran this time so they'd have some name recognition in four years.
This reminds me of Limbo. How LOW can you go to get "anyone but Romney"? Even with all his money, organization and almost two years of prep-work, Romney is "tied" with NEWT GINGRICH? This from the party of "family values" and "integrity"? When voting Mitt or Newt, do you hurl before or after you pull the voting lever ... or both?
Do Floridians have no memories of Newt the Liar?
This Sociopath is a monster and people think he is some kind Grandpa. OMG
Monsters thrive on fooling people.
Out of all the Republicans out there........these are the best qualified.......??????? Maybe the Republicans a happy enough just controling Congress???????
Are you telling me that, after months of debates,town hall meetings, and countless amounts of money spent, this system is the best that America's ingenuity can come up with to choose a candidate...??
To hope that somebody can get to the finish line with enough delegates to be elected...??
Otherwise we can always draft the pizza delivery guy from Domino's...or one of the linebackers from the Dolphins...or the sheriff from Lincoln county...???
Maybe somebody should have a look at the canadian system...where after each round of voting, the candidate in last place is dropped, and on it goes until somebody wins...
What a waste of time and money. President Obama in ANOTHER LANDSLIDE.
The biggest problem is that neither canidate is very appealing where in the election for president will not beat Obama. I do not like Obama but I do not like either of these canidates. If one of these beats Obama, we will just see another 4 years of Politics where our country is in shambles. Where has our country gone?
Most of it is in China now.
These two are too old, too rich, and too conservative to be the Prez.
Nobody thought that Jesse Ventura would win the Governor's race in Mn a few years ago either. But he did. I put Newt in the same category. It is hard to believe that he could win the general election. But if he did, it would be really entertaining for 4 years. It would be worth it just to watch it all happen.
You have a really sick idea of entertainment.
REDRUM! REDRUM! REDRUM! Tony is not here!