Welcome to what should be the most exciting week yet of the Republican nomination for president, as the campaign moves to Florida and to Tampa today.
Mitt Romney is in the Cigar City early this morning. The candidate out of central casting is now in a serious fight for the nomination, after his shellacking at the hands of Newt Gingrich on Saturday night in South Carolina.
Newt Gingrich will be in Tampa later this afternoon for a campaign rally, filled with momentum and perhaps more hubris than usual. Critics say he's at a disadvantage against Romney in Florida, but then again, those same critics said Romney was going to win South Carolina.
Ron Paul won't be campaigning at all in Florida, but he will be in town tonight for the latest GOP debate at 9 p.m. on NBC. Paul's supporters were omnipresent at a Tea Party-led rally in St. Pete over the weekend.
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2012.
