GOP CANDIDATES ON TO THE SUNSHINE STATE
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine Nolan Photos Courtesy of Fox News, A/P, Getty ImagesThe GOP Candidates are making their mark on the Sunshine State in preparation for the January 31st primary election.
The candidates that remain seem to be feeling the tension with accusations flying as the debates get under way in Florida.
It was recently determined that Rick Santorum was the victor in the Iowa Caucus by 34 votes. After Iowa, we were on to New Hampshire where Mitt Romney was the clear winner. His confidence level was high going into the next primary but Newt Gingrich easily slid out in front in the South Carolina race.
Tampa, Florida was the recent location for the latest debate sponsored by NBC News, The National Journal and Tampa Bay Times. Mitt Romney focused on Gingrich’s record as House Speaker and accused him of lobbying after his term in government. He called him an ‘influence peddler’ for Federal Mortgage insurer, Freddie Mac, while being paid a hefty sum of money ($1.5 million) while acting as consultant. At this very same time, the American people were suffering during the housing crisis. On the other hand, Romney has been in the hot seat with his evasive response to releasing his tax forms. However, on Sunday he said that he will release his 2010 tax return on Tuesday as well as an estimate of his 2011 tax liability.
Also engaging in the debate was Pennsylvania Senator, Rick Santorum and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Romney and Gingrich agree that a military response is the best course of action against Iranian effort to block the Strait of Hormuz. Paul prefers to reduce the U.S. Military presence around the world. He is in favor of opening relations with Cuba while Gingrich is of the opinion that the Cuban government should be overthrown.
Since the U.S. Space Program is near and dear to the hearts of Florida voters, Gingrich and Romney were in agreement that with commercial investment, the Space Program could get the boost it needs.
Florida is largely Republican and each candidate is vying for these important votes. Early voting began last Saturday and 53,000 ballots have been cast with 180,000 absentee ballots filled out and returned.
Nationally, Mitt Romney holds a slight marginal lead of 29%, Newt Gingrich is at 28%, Ron Paul coming in third at 13% and Rick Santorum finishing last with 11% of the vote.
Comments are closed.