Newt Gingrich losing ground to Romney in Florida
Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich speaks to supporters at Dolphin Aviation in Sarasota, Fla., on Jan. 24, 2012.
Mitt Romney's aggressive Florida campaign against rival Newt Gingrich appeared to pay off this weekend, according to the Wall Street Journal.
On Sunday, Romney stepped up his attacks on Gingrich saying the former House speaker should “look in the mirror” to discover why he is losing ground among Republican voters in the Sunshine State.
A poll released late Saturday had the former Massachusetts governor 11 points ahead of Gingrich. Other polls have Romney leading by an even wider spread in Florida.
An NBC News-Marist poll showed Romney leading Gingrich 42 percent to 27 percent, while a Miami Herald-Tampa Bay Times-El Nuevo poll had Romney ahead 42 percent to 31 percent reported the Washington Post.
Gingrich hit back Sunday in Lutz, Florida. Gingrich told reporters he did not think Republicans would vote for Romney, characterizing him as a “a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase moderate from Massachusetts,” Politico reported.
"I have had a long record as a very hard-hitting Reagan conservative," Gingrich said, adding "[being attacked] by a Massachusetts moderate using money from Wall Street…is really about as big an outrage as I've had in my career."
On ABC's "This Week," Gingrich said Romney has run a “campaign of vilification” that is based on “factually false” claims and “carpet-bombing with negative ads.” He also said Romney did not have the character to be president and that “is a very serious problem.”
More from GlobalPost: Florida primary: Anger in the Sunshine State
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