Romney back in lead with attack ad campaign

Anticipating victory in Florida’s game-changing Republican presidential primary last night, Mitt Romney looked ahead while his struggling rival Newt Gingrich vowed to fight on.

Florida is the largest nominating contest so far this year and, with double-digit leads in statewide polls, Romney seemed headed for a big boost in the state-by-state battle to decide who will face Democratic US President Barack Obama in the November election.

If Romney wins as expected, it would mark a sharp reversal of fortune for Gingrich. The former speaker of the US House of Representatives scored a shock victory over the former Massachusetts governor and private equity executive in the last primary, 10 days ago, in South Carolina.

Gingrich jumped ahead in polls in Florida after that contest, and the party seemed headed for a long primary race.

But the well-funded and well-organised Romney wrested back the lead after two strong debate performances and a blizzard of television advertisements attacking Gingrich.

“[Romney’s] a businessman. He knows how to make money. If he makes promises, he’ll keep them,” said Frank Lobue, a retired utility company employee in St Petersburg.

Romney and “Restore our Future”, an independent super PAC, or fund-raising group, that backs him have spent $15 million on advertising in Florida, almost all negative, compared with $4m by Gingrich and his backers.

By Monday, Romney’s support in Florida was at 43% versus Gingrich’s 28%, according to Reuters/Ipsos online poll data. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Representative Ron Paul were at 12% and 5%, respectively.

Many conservative Republicans are concerned that Romney is too moderate. The former governor has failed to electrify a party that has reluctantly embraced him while continuing to encourage his more conservative rivals.

Gingrich said Republicans needed to unite behind him if they wanted to defeat Obama on Nov 6.

“If they want to beat President Obama, I believe a conservative has a much better chance,” he said.

If Romney wins the nomination but does not catch fire with the Republican base, some party leaders worry that a third-party candidate could emerge and take votes away from him, boosting Obama.

Florida is a stronghold for the small-government Tea Party movement, and it has been backing Gingrich in the state.