MILFORD, Mich. – Standing before members of eight Detroit-area Tea Party groups on Thursday, Mitt Romney angled for their support by promising to shrink government by slashing deficits and cutting programs. 

"In lowering the tax rates I'm going to make absolutely sure we don't add to the deficit,” Romney said as he laid out his new tax plan to several hundred attendees here. “For me, the highest priority is getting America on track to have a balanced budget."

Romney's campaign has courted Michigan Tea Party groups strategically, according to one adviser, who said that most Tea Party affiliates in Michigan are more interested in small government than social issues, which the campaign believes plays to Romney's perceived strengths.

"I've got a whole list of programs we're going to eliminate," Romney promised, vowing not to pass trillion dollar deficits onto the next generation, but not naming any program other than "Obamacare," which he said he would cut completely.

Romney also undercut his main rival in Michigan, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, although he never mentioned Santorum by name. He linked Santorum to big spending in Washington and accused him of selling out his principles.

"These politicians run for office, and then go to Washington, and something happens there. I'm not sure what's in the water, but they decide that they've got to take one for the team," Romney said, referencing Wednesday night’s Republican debate, during which Santorum defended his support of the federal No Child Left Behind law. "They keep on voting for the same old stuff, and spending grows and grows over the years."

Later, Romney took another, less veiled swipe at Santorum. The two were neck and neck in recent polls.

"People go to Washington and they vote for things they don't believe in,” Romney said. “One of the candidates last night spent most of the evening describing why it was he voted against his principles. And he said you know you've got to take it for the team every now and again. Well, my team is the people of the United States of America."

The pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future is going up with an ad in Michigan and Arizona, starting tonight, that focuses on the story of Mitt Romney helping to lead the search for his business partner's daughter who went missing in New York City in the 1990s.

The story is true, but the ad is recycled.

In fact, the ad run by a SUPER PAC, called "Saved," is word-for-word the same ad that the Romney CAMPAIGN ran in 2007, called "The Search."

The only differences appear to be slightly different video of New York City and a different sign off. Instead of "I'm Mitt Romney and I approve this message," it's "Restore Our Future is responsible for the content of this message."

Super PACs and campaigns are, by federal law, not allowed coordinate.

Here are the ads and scripts: 

2012 Restore Our Future ad and script below:

My 14 year old daughter had disappeared in New York City for 3 days. No one could find her. My business partner stepped forward to take charge. He closed the company and brought almost all our employees to New York. He said I don't care how long takes, we're going to find her. He set up a command center and searched through the night. The man who helped save my daughter was Mitt Romney. Mitt's done a lot of things that people say are nearly impossible. But, for me, the most important thing he's ever done is to help save my daughter.

Restore Our Future is responsible for the content of this message.

2007 Romney campaign ad and script:

My 14 yr old daughter disappeared in New York City for three days. No one could find her. My business partner stepped forward to take charge. He closed the company and brought almost all of our employees to New York. He said I don’t care how long it takes, we're going to find her. He set up a command center and searched through the night. The man who helped save my daughter was Mitt Romney. Mitt's done a lot of things people say that are nearly impossible. But for me the most important thing he's ever done is to help save my daughter.

I'm Mitt Romney and I approve this message.

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Chuck Todd confirms that the video is the same as the 2007 ad and was purchased by Restore Our Future.

"We purchased the rights to the footage from its owner Cold Harbor Films, which did not entail interacting with the Romney campaign," according to Restore Our Future Treasurer Charlie Spies, who was the chief financial officer and counsel for Romney's 2008 campaign.

Cold Harbor Films is an arm of National Media, an ad firm run by Alex Castellanos, who was a strategist for the Romney 2008 campaign.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, seeking to kick-start his presidential campaign among recalcitrant conservatives, will propose cutting the top income tax for individuals to 28%, advisers said today.

Mr. Romney's earlier economic plan called only for preserving the current top tax rate of 35%, while holding out the promise of lower rates later in an overhaul of the tax code. But facing a major challenge from upstart Republican rival Rick Santorum, he has chosen to outline such an overhaul today in Arizona ahead of critical Feb. 28 primaries there and in  Michigan -- and before a televised debate tonight in Mesa.

Mr. Romney's top economic adviser, Glenn Hubbard, said the plan would cut all six current tax brackets -- 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, depending on a taxpayer's income - by the same proportion of 20%. That would produce this new set of tax brackets: 8%, 12%, 20%, 22.4%, 26.4%, and 28%. "It's a marginal rate cut for every American," Mr. Hubbard said.

But he added that Mr. Romney is committed to making his plan both "revenue neutral" -- meaning it won't add to the budget deficit -- and "distributionally neutral" -- meaning that it won't shift the tax burden from upper-income Americans to middle and working class Americans. Since the largest benefits from rate reduction would go to upper income taxpayers, so will the burdens of "base broadening" reductions in existing deductions needed to keep the government from hemorrhaging revenue, he explained.

Reducing large tax deductions, such as the ones for home mortgage interest and state and local taxes, is politically treacherous because of their popularity with voters and elected officials alike. For now, at least, Mr. Romney will dodge any potential backlash by avoiding any specifics.

Mr. Romney will pledge to work with Congress on "limiting them," Mr. Hubbard said, but "It is not his intention to take on any specific deduction or exclusion and eliminate it."

Mr. Romney has praised the work of President Obama's Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission, and criticized the Democratic incumbent for ignoring its work. But Mr. Romney is also rejecting the commission recommendation that tax overhaul produce increased government revenue to cut the deficit, while embracing its recommendation to cut the top tax rate to 29% or lower.

Mr. Hubbard contrasted Mr. Romney's "pro-growth" plan with Mr. Obama's proposal to raise taxes on individuals earning more than $200,000 and households earning more than $250,000. He argued that would hurt economic growth by crimping small businesses, many of which file under the individual tax code.

Mr. Hubbard, who advised former President George W. Bush and now is dean of the business school at Columbia University, also cast the Romney plan as superior to that of Mr. Santorum. The former Pennsylvania senator would also cut the top individual rate to 28%, the level it reached after Congress and the White House agreed on a tax overhaul plan during Ronald Reagan's presidency, which preserving only one more tax bracket of 10%. In the name of "national security", Mr. Santorum has also proposed a zero tax rate for manufacturing businesses as a means of preserving and expanding that economic sector.

The Santorum plan would dramatically expand the budget deficit, Mr. Hubbard said, and the zero rate for manufacturing would result in "significant capital misallocation." "Net-net, it's a job destroyer, not a job creator," Mr. Hubbard said.

Both Mr. Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has proposed an optional "flat tax" system of 15%, have accused Mr. Romney of timidity. With his new proposal, Mr. Romney seeks to counter that charge in advance of tonight's debate.

Mr. Romney's plan aims to balance two competing priorities of different Republican factions. By proposing to cut the top rate, he bids for support among supply-side conservatives who contend that lower marginal rates are the key ingredient for producing economic growth.

But by vowing to offset the loss of revenue by eliminating some deductions, he responds to concerns among deficit hawks about expanding the tide of red ink that has the federal government spending an estimated $1.3-trillion more than it takes in this year.

And by insisting that those unspecified reductions will fall most heavily on the affluent, he seeks to limit his own exposure as a wealthy former financial industry executive who himself has paid taxes at only around the 15% rate because most of his income comes from capital gains. Mr. Romney would maintain the current 15% rate on dividends and capital gains.

Mr. Obama has proposed to tax the "carried interest" received by many hedge fund and private equity executives at higher ordinary income rates rather than as capital gains, arguing that current law gives them an undue advantage. Mr. Hubbard said a President Romney would ask his Treasury Secretary to study tackle the "devilishly hard question" of whether current law should change and tax some of that income at ordinary income rates.

Mr. Romney had previously proposed eliminating capital gains taxes on taxpayers earning less than $200,000. That drew fire from some conservatives, and campaign rivals such as Mr. Gingrich, on grounds that gave unwarranted preference to a specific group and would have small economic impact since those taxpayers receive relatively little in capital gains anyway.

Mr. Romney also proposes to eliminate both the estate tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax, while cutting the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.

Mr. Hubbard said three different revenue streams would keep the plan from increasing the budget deficit: the "dynamic" effects of economic growth, the additional income that would be subject to taxation through "base broadening", and spending cuts Mr. Romney plans that would reach $500-billion per year by 2016. The campaign promised more specifics on those spending cuts within the next week.

In advance of Mr. Romney's tax plan, Mr. Obama's Treasury Department proposed its own corporate tax overhaul plan cutting the top corporate rate to 28% by eliminating some existing corporate deductions. Part of the Obama plan includes a minimum tax on the overseas income of U.S.-based corporations. Mr. Hubbard, accusing the administration of a "full-throttle attack on multinationals", said Mr. Romney will propose shifting to a territorial system that would not tax corporate income earned overseas.

*** UPDATE *** At an event earlier today, Romney alluded to which cuts and deductions he would go after, especially on the rich. He said the highest-income earner, in fact, should keep "paying their current share ... or more."

"And in order to limit any impact on the deficit," Romney said, "because I don't want to add to the deficit, and also to ensure that we continue to have progressivity as we've had in the past with our code, I'm going to limit the deductions and exemptions particularly for high income folks. And by the way, I want to make sure you understand, for middle income folks. And by the way, I want to make sure that you understand for middle-income families, the deductibility of home mortgage interest and charitable contributions -- those things will continue, but for high-income folks, we’re going to cut back on that, so that we make sure the top 1 percent keeps paying the current share they’re paying or more. We want middle-income Americans to be the place we focus our help, because it’s middle-income Americans that have been hurt by this Obama economy."

Rick Santorum leads in polls, but he's spent much of the last two days defending provocative comments. ... A Romney Arizona co-chairman -- and hard-line immigration sheriff -- quits after a sex scandal erupts ... Romney asks Trump to give him air cover ... And half of all GOP primary ads have been negative.

1. Santorum leads nationally, in states…
Rick Santorum is maintaining the lead in national polls. His margin in the ever-fluctuating Gallup Daily Tracking poll expanded to 10 (36%-26% over Mitt Romney) today.

Another poll conducted by Gallup for USA Today shows Santorum up six, 50%-44%. (By the way, two-thirds of Republicans in that poll say they oppose a so-called “brokered” convention.)

National polls in primaries mean almost nothing. But as Super Tuesday March 6th approaches with 11 states across the country voting, national polls will mean a little bit more.

In Oklahoma, the Sooner Poll shows Santorum up 16 points, 39%-23%, with Newt Gingrich -- not Romney -- in second. Romney is third with 16.  (In Texas, there’s a robo poll -- a methodology NBC doesn’t report on -- that shows Santorum up 30. Should there be more evidence that shows similar results in live caller polls, we’ll report it.)

2. …But he’s also defending his own words
We’re not sure if the Philadelphia Daily News is one of Santorum’s morning reads, but if it is, he woke up to this headline from a Daily News columnist: “Santorum? Really? He's atop the GOP heap. Are they nuts?”

Depending on your perspective, Santorum either had a tough weekend or is standing up for very conservative values.

Yesterday on the Sunday shows and again today, Santorum was left defending remarks accusing President Obama’s of believing a “phony theology” that is not based on “the Bible;” pre-natal testing leading to abortions; the greatest generation during World War Two and how they stepped up – albeit late because they thought Hitler might not be that bad and then pivoted and said people “today” need to step up. That left some to wonder if he were likening Hitler to President Obama (More on the full remarks here); And there were his remarks on public schools, in which Santorum, who homeschools his children, said, “Where did they come up with public education was the role of the government? … The idea that state governments or the federal government should run schools is anachronistic.”

On almost all of those except pre-natal testing, which he defended, he tried to walk back or try to blame the media for overhyping them.

On “theology,” he said he wasn’t questioning Obama’s faith, that if he says he’s Christian, he believes him. And he changed his language today from theology to “ideology.” (Though a surrogate today also explained that there’s a certain “secularist theology” or “theological secularism” that Obama and liberals ascribe to.

On his World War Two comments, he said, “No, of course not,” he wasn’t comparing President Obama to Hitler. And: "It’s a World War Two metaphor. It's one I've used 100 times."

On education, on CBS’s Face the Nation yesterday, Santorum put it this way: “To the extent possible, with respect to mandates and designing curriculum and the like, I’d get the state government out. I think that the parent should be in charge, working with the local school district to try to design an educational environment for each child that optimizes their potential. … It’s another thing to dictate and micromanage and create a one-size-fits-all education system in states and certainly in the federal government, which is what President Obama’s trying to do.”

Not helping his cause today, spokeswoman Alice Stewart slipped and called Obama’s policies “radical Islamic policies,” instead of what she meant and said on the show as well – “radical environmentalist policies.” It’s a comment the left has had a field day with.

For those who have seen Santorum in person, he tends to go without notes, can speak for a long time, and meander into territory that, if there were a script, would be off of it. Now, these comments could actually help Santorum with very conservative voters. But they could hurt him not just with independents in a general election, but also with Republicans for whom electability matters most.

3. Romney Ariz. co-chair quits campaign
A co-chairman of Romney’s Arizona campaign Paul Babeu, who was seen walking along the border in that famous McCain “complete the dang fence” ad and is running for Congress, quit the Romney campaign after a report in the Phoenix Times alleged that he threatened to deport an ex-boyfriend if he didn’t keep quiet about their relationship.

He denies that accusation, but did come out at a press conference acknowledging he is gay. (MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts interviewed a reporter from the Arizona Republic who has been covering the story.)

4. Romney camp asks Trump to do radio
NBC’s Garrett Haake reported that, at the request of the Romney campaign, Donald Trump is now doing radio interviews for Romney in Ohio and Michigan. In one interview today in Michigan, Trump left open a third-party bid if Romney doesn’t win the nomination.

“There's a good possibility would do something,” he said, “because I love the country.”

He said Santorum “has no chance,” and that people in Pennsylvania turned him away. Locally, where they knew him best, was even worse.”

He said he went with Romney because of electability. Santorum, he said, “can’t win in a general. I see that and I see some of his views which are so out there, he cannot win the general.

He also acknowledged though one of Romney’s weaknesses – connecting with average voters. “He’s a much different guy on a personal basis than on TV,” Trump said.

And he also revealed that he knows Gingrich, because he is apparently a member at his D.C.-area country club.

5. Study: 50% of GOP ads negative
If you thought the ad wars this year were even more negative than ever before, you are right.

A new study by ad tracker CMAG/KANTAR media shows that just 6% of campaign ads in 2008 were negative in the GOP primary. This year, that number has jumped to 50 percent.

And you have Super PACs to thank for that. They have run more ads than the candidates themselves. And the Super PACs have spent about three-quarters of their cash on negative ads.

And, get this, 100% of Restore Our Future’s and American Crossroads’ ads have been negative.

Donald Trump, who endorsed Mitt Romney earlier this month at his Las Vegas hotel, is making the rounds on Michigan and Ohio radio stations this week to praise Romney's electability.

Trump said on Michigan’s WSGW this morning that though he personally likes Newt Gingrich, who is a member of his Washington, D.C.,-area country club, Romney's electability and position on China sealed the endorsement. 

"Mitt, by far, and this is very important, has the best chance of getting elected and beating Obama," Trump said.

But the star of NBC's The Apprentice was not as kind to another Romney opponent, Rick Santorum, who Trump said "came out of nowhere" and dismissed as "unelectable."

"I see some of his views which are so out there that he's never going to win. He cannot win the general election," Trump said. "The people in Pennsylvania turned him away, and they knew him the best. I hear his local community was even more vociferous. I mean he lost by 18 or 19 points, but locally where they knew him best, it was substantially more than that."

Trump continued, "There is no gift, no Christmas gift that could be given better than Rick Santorum for the Democrats. They are just salivating at that. I don't think they believe it's going to happen, but boy would they like it to happen, because it would be an easy election."

While Trump described Romney as a "high-quality human being," he acknowledged that the former Massachusetts governor, who is sometimes criticized as struggling to connect to people, is much different face-to-face than on TV.

"He's a much different guy on a personal basis than he comes across on television," Trump said. "While he projects very well, I can tell you on a personal basis, I think it's even better."

Trump was also asked by host Art Lewis if he would consider throwing his hat into the ring if the nomination fight continues to the Republican Convention in September.

"Obviously if [Romney] wins, I'm not running," Trump said. "If he doesn't -- and I hope that doesn't happen -- I would say that there's a good possibility that I would do something, yes. The reason is I love the country, and I hate what's happening to the country."

As NBC's Garrett Haake reports, Romney's campaign asked Trump to do the interviews a few days ago, and several more are planned this week.

BOISE, Idaho -- Drawing yet another line in his battle for the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney urged voters here to take a closer look at Rick Santorum's Senate record, which he said would disqualify former Pennsylvania senator as not a true fiscal conservative.

"You have to look at people’s records as well as their words. And I know that Senator Santorum is getting his moment in the spotlight now, which is a good thing. I hope people take a very close look at his record. Because he was in Congress for about 20 years, and during that time the size of the federal government doubled during his time in office," Romney said. "And by the way, he voted to raise the debt ceiling five different times without compensating cuts. And he’s a big proponent of earmarks. He voted for billions of dollars of earmarks including the bridge to nowhere" in Alaska.

"If you want a fiscal conservative, you can’t vote for Rick Santorum, cause he’s not, he’s not a deficit hawk. He says he’s not a deficit hawk. I am. I'm a fiscal conservative. I’ll balance the budget," Romney said.

Romney's assault on Santorum on Friday at a large and energetic rally outside Boise was the first time he has mentioned Santorum on the stump since the day after the former senator swept contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri to emerge as the latest challenger to Romney's frontrunner status. A Detroit News poll yesterday showed Santorum leading Romney in Michigan, the former Massachusetts governor's home state, by four points, and the Romney campaign has engaged accordingly.

In recent days campaigning in Michigan and Ohio, Romney held his fire on Santorum, focusing on attacking "union bosses" and defending his stance on the 2009 auto bailouts. Meanwhile, Romney surrogates engaged in a media campaign against the former senator, holding conference calls with reporters each of the last three days to label Santorum in a variety of ways, including a "pundit" and a "nice guy" who simply "couldn't say no" to Washington spending. 

Romney's campaign and the super PAC backing him, Restore our Future, have also more than doubled the ad spending of Santorum and his allies in Michigan, spending $3.9 million there to Santorum's $1.5 million, according to NBC ad tracking sources.

On Friday, Santorum scored a victory against Romney in Ohio just before Romney's event in Boise was set to begin. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a delegate in Ohio, switched his endorsement from Romney to Santorum, declaring "To be elected president, you have to do more than tear down your opponents."

Romney's campaign, which has racked up endorsements from local and national figures across the country, waved off the defection, in part by downplaying the importance of endorsements in the first place. Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu told reporters on a conference call, "The most important thing you can get from an endorser is their organization. And frankly, as I understand it, attorney generals don't have that much of a political organization,"

Senior Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom noted that DeWine had supported former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty before switching support to Romney when Pawlenty ended his candidacy. Fehrnstrom looked to shrug off the switch, tweeting: "Mike DeWine makes his third endorsement in six months -- Pawlenty, Romney, and now Santorum. I think that's a record."

Asked by NBC after the Boise event for comment on DeWine's change of heart, Romney did not respond, and aides led him to his car, saying he had a flight to catch.

*** UPDATED AT 1:15 PM WITH COMMENT FROM PRIORITIES USA ***

A top campaign watchdog group today is calling for a Justice Department criminal investigation into Super PACs supporting President Obama and GOP front runner Mitt Romney.

Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a group sharply critical of Super PACs, said Priorities USA Action, the Obama Super PAC, and Restore Our Future, a similar group backing Romney, are both "illegal operations" because of their close ties to the candidates they are backing.

In the wake of reports that the White House has signed off on plans to urge wealthy donors to contribute to the group, Wertheimer said he is writing a letter to the Justice Department today urging criminal probes of both groups.

"In order to believe that the Super PACs supporting President Obama and Mitt Romney are 'independent' from the presidential campaigns they are supporting, you must believe in the tooth fairy," Wertheimer said.

Bill Burton, Obama's former deputy press secretary and 2008 campaign spokesman, set up Priorities USA Action last year along with another former Obama political aide, Sean Sweeney. Burton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Restore Our Future, which has spent millions in the GOP primary so far, was set up by former Romney aides Charlie Spies, who was Romney’s general counsel during his 2008 bid, and Carl Forti, who was Romney’s political director. Forti is also the political director for American Crossroads.

The White House plan to steer wealthy donors to give money to Priorities USA Action was disclosed in a blog posting on the Obama campaign website, saying that the move was needed to "neutralize the avalanche of special interest spending" being mounted on the GOP side to defeat President Obama.

"The stakes are too important to play by two different sets of rules," Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager wrote.

The New York Times reported that the White House plans to dispatch top officials, including senior advisers David Plouffe and Valerie Jarrett to meet with donors. Romney himself has appeared at Restore Our Future fundraisers, something he defended on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown, saying he’d acted within the law.

“They can help in terms of fundraising, but cannot in any way communicate a course of advertising, suggest when ads run, where they run, what's in the content of the ads,” Romney said of candidates and campaigns and whether or how much they can coordinate with Super PACs supporting them. “Those are things that are prohibited so we're being very careful in that regard.”

A top strategist who works with Democratic Super PACs told NBC News that the White House decision came after mounting worries within party circles that spending by a phalanx of GOP Super PACs could reach $1 billion by election day -- including $100 million from the conservative oil magnate Koch brothers -- drowning out the president's message

"When you see numbers like that, it starts getting a little spooky," the strategist said.

He also said most big Democratic donors have so far been gun shy of the Super PACs, because of Obama's past criticism of such groups. In the 2010 election, Obama charged that GOP groups, fueled with “special interest” money, were threatening to “hijack” democracy.

"We need some of our big birds to get off the wire," the strategist said, noting that some wealthy donors have expressed concerns that they'll be "demonized" if they give to one of the Democratic Super PACs.

So far, Priorities USA Action has had relatively little success in raising funds, reporting last week that it had collected just $4.4 million through the end of last year. A Priorities official said it had raised another $2.3 million via a 501(c)4 arm that doesn’t have to disclose donors. (The Karl Rove-Ed Gillespie-led groups American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS have a similar set up and has raised far more money.)

That $6.7 million is compared to the $30 million raised by Restore Our Future and the $51 million reported raised by American Crossroads and its non-profit, non-disclosed affiliate Crossroads GPS.

The pro-Obama group did report a handful of big checks, including $2 million from Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, $1 million from the SEIU labor union, $100,000 from director Steven Spielberg, and others.

While individual donors can only give $2,500 a piece to official campaign committees, the Super PACs can collect unlimited donations from individuals, corporations, and labor unions. Priorities USA Action also reported last week that $215,000 of its operating expenses were being paid by its non-profit affiliate -- called Priorities USA -- which like Crossroads GPS, does not disclose its donors.

"As much as [David] Axelrod hates to give up this part of the president's message,” the strategist said, “most voters are pretty cynical about this stuff and don't much care.”

*** UPDATE *** Priorities spokesman Bill Burton disputes the notion that Priorities is an "illegal operation."

"We of course are abiding by all appropriate rules and laws," Burton said.

Mitt Romney won Florida last night with a coalition of women, Latinos, seniors, "somewhat conservatives," the wealthy, and people who lived in three basic regions.

Based on exit polls, revised this morning:

- Women (49% of electorate): Romney 52%-28%
- Latinos (14% of electorate): Romney 54%-29%
- 65+ (36% of electorate): Romney 51%-34%
- “Somewhat conservative” (26%): Romney 52%-32%
- $100K a year+ (31% of electorate): Romney 52%-30%
- $200K a year+ (9% of electorate): Romney 60%-23%
- Miami and South (17% of electorate): Romney 56%-28%
- South Central (20% of electorate): Romney 50%-27%
- Tampa Bay area (18% of electorate): Romney 47%-27%

So 55% of the electorate came from Miami, South Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area, and Romney won in those places by an average of 51%.

Other noteworthy bullets:

- Evangelicals made up 47% of all voters this time, up from 39% in 2008. Romney split them with Gingrich, but won 38%-37%.
- Latinos made up 14% of the electorate, up from 12% in 2008.
- Cubans made up 8%, up from 7% last time.
- Romney cleaned up with Cubans – 57%-31% and non-Cuban Latinos 52%-23%.

*** UPDATE *** AT 7:19 am ET, percentage has increased.

Mitt Romney won 49% of his entire vote margin from just five counties -- the Southeastern and traditionally Democratic counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, as well as the swing counties of Pinellas and Hillsborough.

Of those five counties, Romney won about 118,000 votes of his about 241,000 vote margin.

Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach alone accounted for about 31% of his total margin -- with about 74,000 votes.

Vote margin for Romney - 240,548
Miami-Dade 38,017
Broward 13,783
Palm Beach 22,078

Sub-total: 73,878 (31%)

Pinellas 26,271
Hillsborough 17,554

Grand Total: 117,703 (49%)

LADY LAKE, Florida– As the race in Florida draws to a close, Newt Gingrich is trying to draw a much sharper contrast between himself and his “liberal” GOP rival Mitt Romney. 

“I am, in fact, the legitimate heir of the Reagan movement, not some liberal from Massachusetts,” Gingrich told the several thousand-person crowd at The Villages, a retirement community outside of Orlando. 

In the past, the former House speaker always referred to Romney as a “Massachusetts moderate,” but early Sunday Gingrich began labeling the former Massachusetts governor as a “liberal” instead. 

“This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro gun control, pro tax increase liberal,” Gingrich told reporters about Romney outside Idlewild Baptist Church after attending services there this morning. 

Gingrich has seen his poll numbers slip in the Sunshine State, where at one point he was beating Romney by a sizable margin. In the new NBC News/Marist poll released Sunday morning, Romney pulled ahead of Gingrich by 15 points – 42 percent to 27 percent. 

The former speaker, though, said he was not discouraged by the polls and reiterated to reporters that he would take his campaign to Tampa in August. 

“We will go all the way to the convention,” Gingrich said , adding that the convention might be a broken one. 

“We have no evidence yet that Romney anywhere is coming close to getting a majority and I think when you take all the non-Romney votes, it's very likely that at the convention there will be a non-Romney majority and maybe a very substantial one,” he said. 

The conservative vote in Florida seems to be split between Gingrich and Rick Santorum, who is polling at 16 percent in the new poll. Adding together the two men’s numbers would in turn pull one candidate ahead of Romney, which Gingrich hopes will eventually happen. 

“Rick's going to get a decent vote … on Tuesday. I have no doubt the two of us are going to collectively outscore Romney,” Gingrich said. “And at that point it might be a pretty good conversation” to have with Santorum about trying to consolidate all the conservatives behind one candidate, he added.