Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had an impressive win Tuesday in the Florida primary over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He beat Gingrich 46 percent to 32 percent, with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum gaining 13 percent of the votes and Texas Congressman Ron Paul getting 7 percent.
Was it a knockout blow to Gingrich? Did it assure the Republican nomination for Romney?
That remains to be seen. Certainly it gives Romney momentum headed into Saturday’s caucuses in Nevada, a state considered friendly to him in part because of its large population of Mormons.
But Romney, who heavily outspent Gingrich on advertising in Florida, defeated Gingrich by an even wider margin in the New Hampshire primary, only to see Gingrich storm back for a strong win in South Carolina. And Santorum had a narrow win in the Iowa caucuses over Romney. In addition, no one has yet gotten more than 50 percent of the vote in any state.
Voters seem remarkably unsettled.