Voters in Tuesday's Florida Republican primary chose Mitt Romney as the candidate best able to beat President Barack Obama in the fall, preferring electability over ideology in lifting the former Massachusetts governor to a broad victory despite concerns that his issue positions are not conservative enough. 
 
 ROMNEY RECAPTURES ELECTABILTY: A majority of Florida GOP voters said Romney is the candidate best able to beat Obama in a general election matchup; only about 3 in 10 said the same of Newt Gingrich. And Romney carried 6 in 10 votes among those seeking a candidate who could defeat the president in November. Gingrich had a strong showing among those seeking a true conservative and split the vote with Romney among those seeking an experienced candidate. 
 
 CONSERVATIVES THEN AND NOW: In 2008, Romney carried the mantle of conservative alternative to eventual Republican nominee John McCain. This time around, about 4 in 10 Florida voters said Romney's issue positions are not conservative enough, and very conservative voters were more apt to back Gingrich than the former governor of Massachusetts. Strong supporters of the tea party movement also favored Gingrich over Romney, but Romney carried 50 percent or more among those who support the movement somewhat, are neutral or oppose it. 
 
 THE GENDER GAP: Romney won by a wide margin among women after a deeply negative campaign in Florida raising questions about Gingrich's character. Women were more apt than men to say they were influenced by campaign advertising, and were a bit more likely to say a candidate's "strong moral character" was the most important factor in their vote. In the end, only about half of women in the poll report holding a positive opinion of Gingrich as a person, compared with nearly 8 in 10 who have a positive opinion of Romney. 
 
 ECONOMIC CONCERNS TRUMP ALL: About 6 in 10 said the economy was their top issue in choosing a candidate, about half said foreclosures were having a major impact on their community, and 3 in 10 said they were falling behind financially. 
 
 SEEKING OTHER CHOICES: Four in 10 voters said they would like to see someone else run for the nomination, more than said so in New Hampshire a few weeks ago, though the window for another candidate to join the field is nearly closed. About half of voters said they would be satisfied if Gingrich or Rick Santorum became the nominee. More, about two-thirds, said they'd be satisfied with a Romney candidacy, including about 4 in 10 who voted for Gingrich and half who backed Santorum. 
 
 The survey of 2,739 Republican voters was conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks by Edison Research. This includes preliminary results among 2,139 voters interviewed Tuesday as they left their polling places at 40 randomly selected sites in Florida. In addition, 600 who voted early or absentee were interviewed by landline or cellular telephone from Jan. 23 to 29. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. ||||| Mitt Romney won a commanding victory in the Florida primary Tuesday night, rebounding from defeat a week earlier and taking a major step toward the Republican presidential nomination. Despite the one-sided result, Newt Gingrich vowed to press on. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, points to his signature on a quilt he signed earlier, with messages from supporters, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, at his campaign office... (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gives a thumbs up as he greets volunteers at his campaign office in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, during Florida's primary... (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, accompanied by his wife Callista, campaigns outside a polling place at the First Baptist Church of Windermere in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney laughs as he speaks with a voter at his campaign office in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, during Florida's primary election... (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich meets with campaign workers in view of a cutout of former President Ronald Reagan during a visit to the Polk County campaign office,... (Associated Press) 
 
 "Thank you FL!" an exuberant Romney tweeted minutes after the race was called. "While we celebrate this victory, we must not forget what this election is really about: defeating Barack Obama." 
 
 Returns from slightly more than half of Florida's precincts showed Romney with 47 percent of the vote, to 33 percent for Gingrich. 
 
 Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had 13 percent, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul 7 percent. Neither mounted a substantial effort in the state. 
 
 The winner-take-all primary was worth 50 Republican National Convention delegates, by far the most of any primary state so far. 
 
 But the bigger prize was precious political momentum in the race to pick an opponent for Democratic President Barack Obama this fall 
 
 That belonged to Romney when he captured the New Hampshire primary three weeks ago, then swung stunningly to Gingrich when he countered with a South Carolina upset 11 days later. 
 
 Now it was back with the former Massachusetts governor, after a 10-day comeback that marked a change to more aggressive tactics, coupled with an efficient use of an overwhelming financial advantage. ||||| Story highlights Romney to get Secret Service protection, a source tells CNN 
 
 Mitt Romney gets Florida's 50 convention delegates, the biggest primary haul so far 
 
 Tuesday's winner will get the GOP nomination, predicts Florida Sen. Rubio 
 
 Gingrich's momentum dropped as Romney went on the offensive 
 
 Mitt Romney headed west Wednesday to begin campaigning in Minnesota and Nevada after cementing his status as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination with a solid victory in Florida's bitterly contested primary. 
 
 Romney had 46% compared to 32% for Newt Gingrich, 13% for former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and 7% for Texas Rep. Ron Paul, according to the Florida Department of State website. 
 
 The victory gave Romney all 50 of Florida's convention delegates, and more importantly, new momentum heading into a series of caucuses and primaries building up to Super Tuesday on March 6, when 10 states will hold nominating contests. 
 
 In a sign of Romney's new prominence, a federal law enforcement source told CNN that Romney will receive Secret Service protection "within days." 
 
 Appearing to cheers of "Mitt, Mitt, Mitt" just 30 minutes after the last polls closed, the former Massachusetts governor thanked his supporters for what he called a "great victory." 
 
 A Florida campaign of vicious personal attacks between Romney and Gingrich, his closest competitor, raised questions about whether the process would damage the eventual winner when it comes time to run against President Barack Obama in November. 
 
 "A competitive primary does not divide us, it prepares us, and we will win," Romney said to cheers. 
 
 Reflecting the bitter campaign, Gingrich refrained from congratulating Romney when he later spoke to supporters holding signs that read "46 states to go" in reference to the early stage of the GOP nominating process. 
 
 Instead, the former House speaker tried to frame the Florida result as a narrowing of the field, saying it was "now clear this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader Newt Gingrich and the Massachusetts moderate." 
 
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 Santorum said Tuesday night that the Florida result showed Gingrich was unable to build on his previous victory, and conservatives were coalescing around Santorum's candidacy as the viable right-wing alternative to the more moderate Romney. 
 
 "Newt Gingrich had his opportunity. He came out of the state of South Carolina, he came out with a big win and a lot of money. He said, 'I'm going to be the conservative alternative. I'm going to be the anti-Mitt'," Santorum said. "It didn't work. He became the issue. We can't allow our nominee to be the issue in the campaign." 
 
 Santorum also told CNN his campaign raised almost $4.5 million in January in what he called a fundraising surge. 
 
 Paul, meanwhile, said he was focusing on upcoming caucuses in Maine and other states where his enthusiastic support base can generate more convention delegates. So far, he noted, he was in third place in delegates, adding "that's what really counts, and we've only just gotten started." 
 
 No candidate so far has more than 10% of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination at the August convention. 
 
 According to exit poll information, Romney led in most categories in Florida to show his appeal to Republican voters who said their main concern was choosing a candidate who can defeat Obama. 
 
 Romney gained significant ground in the Latino community, carrying Hispanics by 23 points. In the 2008 Florida primary, Romney lost Hispanics to eventual GOP nominee Sen. John McCain by 40 points. 
 
 In particular, Romney carried Cuban-Americans -- a vital constituency for Republicans in Florida against Obama -- by 24 points. 
 
 He lost to Gingrich only among the most hardcore elements of the GOP base -- voters who described themselves as very conservative and evangelical or born-again. However, Romney ran strongly among women voters, getting 51% to 29% for Gingrich, indicating that Gingrich's history of three marriages, two divorces and infidelity might be harming him. 
 
 Final polls closed at 8 p.m. ET and Romney jumped out to a strong early lead, buoyed by solid support among more than 632,000 voters who cast absentee or early ballots. His double-digit victory blunted any momentum Gingrich gained from his January 21 victory in South Carolina, the previous primary. 
 
 Both Romney and Gingrich focused their speeches Tuesday night on the ultimate goal -- taking on Obama in November. 
 
 Romney listed what he called the differing ideologies between himself and the president, promising to balance the budget without raising taxes and saying "together we will build an America where hope is a new job with a paycheck, not a faded word on an old bumper sticker." 
 
 "The path I lay out is not one paved with ever increasing government checks and cradle-to-grave assurance government will always be the solution," Romney said. "If this election is a bidding war for who can promise the most goodies and the most benefits, I'm not your president. You have that president today." 
 
 Gingrich pledged to compete in every contest in the nomination process, and to repeal Obama policies hated by conservatives -- such as health care reform and Wall Street reform -- on his first day in office. 
 
 "This is the most important election of your lifetime," Gingrich said, adding: "If Barack Obama gets re-elected, it will be a disaster for the United States of America. You can't imagine how radical he'll be in a second term." 
 
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 Analysts and observers said a Romney victory Tuesday would be important and could be decisive. 
 
 "I think the winner of Florida is in all likelihood going to be the nominee of our party," Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told CNN Tuesday . "Florida is a mini America." 
 
 GOP strategist and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos said a Romney victory would not automatically end the Repubican nomination campaign. 
 
 "With a win, Romney puts the nomination firmly in his grip. But it appears Gingrich and Santorum will keep trying to rip it from his hand," said Castellanos, who was a Romney media adviser in 2008 but is not taking sides this year. 
 
 Gingrich stormed into Florida 10 days earlier on a roll off of his double-digit victory over Romney and the rest of the field in the South Carolina primary. 
 
 His momentum quickly faded after Romney's campaign went on the offensive, turning in two strong debate performances in the Sunshine State and unleashing a barrage of ads targeting Gingrich. 
 
 Negative ads accounted for 92% of political ads airing in Florida over the last week -- a record rate for political campaigns , according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks advertising content and spending. 
 
 "I spent much of my academic career telling reporters, 'Relax, this is not the most negative campaign ever,' " CMAG President Ken Goldstein said. "Well, this IS the most negative campaign ever." 
 
 Romney told reporters Tuesday that he had learned his lesson from his South Carolina loss. 
 
 "If you're attacked, I'm not going to just sit back," he told reporters in Tampa, repeating a refrain he's used regularly recently. "I'm going to fight back and fight back hard." 
 
 On the day before the primary, Gingrich accused Romney of dishonesty but conceded the wave of attack ads had been effective. 
 
 "Frankly if all that stuff were true I wouldn't vote for myself," Gingrich said in Jacksonville Monday , referring to what he called "dishonest" Romney ads. 
 
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 He later told a crowd in Pensacola that "we will only win if the American people decide that they are sick and tired of the New York and Washington establishment thinking that we are dumb enough to let them try to buy an election by telling us things that we all know are just plain not true." 
 
 The Romney campaign and an independent super PAC supporting his bid have greatly outspent Gingrich and pro-Gingrich super PACs on ad buys in Florida. 
 
 Gingrich "has been flailing around a bit trying to go after me for one thing or the other," Romney said later Monday to a crowd in Dunedin. "You just watch it and shake your head. It has been kind of painfully revealing to watch." 
 
 While Romney and Gingrich were in Florida on Tuesday night to watch election returns, Santorum and Paul, knowing they're out of the running for the 50 delegates, have moved on to the next contests. 
 
 Santorum campaigned in Colorado and Nevada on Tuesday, while Paul was in Maine over the weekend and was spending Tuesday in Colorado and Nevada. 
 
 Nevada's caucuses take place Saturday, when Maine starts its week-long caucuses. 
 
 Minnesota and Colorado hold their caucuses on February 7, the same day that Missouri holds its non-binding primary. 
 
 In Lone Tree, Colorado, Santorum called on voters to consider questions that have arisen about the character and discipline of Gingrich, his main rival for support from conservatives. 
 
 "It's an issue of trust," Santorum said when a man at his Tuesday event challenged the character of Gingrich, who has been divorced twice and cited for a violation of House ethics rules. 
 
 Personal mistakes don't automatically disqualify someone from seeking high office, Santorum said, noting Gingrich has sought forgiveness. 
 
 "I don't question his sincerity of his repentance, but as I have said many times there is two areas that are open for concern and that is -- the issue of trust and whether someone who has a record of that is someone you feel comfortable has truly changed and you forgive them," Santorum continued. "That doesn't mean they necessarily have changed their ways." 
 
 The Paul and Santorum campaigns are strategically looking to states in which they can pick up delegates. 
 
 "Ultimately they're conceding in advance in Florida, while trying to shore up future states," said Doug Heye, a GOP strategist and Republican National Committee communications director. "Unfortunately for Paul and Santorum, that generally has not been a winning strategy. It's not being done out of a position of strength." 
 
 Romney's convincing win in Florida, coupled with an unfriendly calendar for Gingrich in February with friendlier Super Tuesday states more than a month away, could put Gingrich in a bind. 
 
 "February doesn't look good for Newt Gingrich. He'll lose Nevada, with its large LDS (Mormon) population and lose Michigan (February 28), where Romney's father was governor. Newt will have a long march across the desert with no debates to revive his campaign," Castellanos said. 
 
 "Newt has to hold his breath all the way to Super Tuesday, March 6th, raise 30 or 40 million dollars for advertising and fix his problem with female voters to catch Romney. Those are grandiose problems, even for Gingrich." ||||| TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney claimed a powerful victory in Florida’s presidential primary, reasserting himself as the front-runner for his party’s nomination and leaving Newt Gingrich reeling from a likely double-digit defeat and facing an uncertain path to regaining his post-South Carolina momentum. 
 
 With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Romney led Gingrich by 16 percentage points, 47 percent to 32 percent. Rick Santorum was a distant third, with 13 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 7 percent. 
 
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 reset Winners & Losers in 60 seconds Romney wins in Florida Gingrich after 2nd place finish 
 
 In just 10 days, Romney went from limping out of South Carolina — where Gingrich beat him handily — to scoring an almost across-the-board win against the former House speaker with nearly every category of GOP primary voter. 
 
 Addressing an energetic crowd of supporters here in Tampa, Romney acknowledged that the primary campaign was not over but predicted the GOP was on its way to victory in the fall. 
 
 “A competitive primary does not divide us. It prepares us. And we will win,” Romney said. “When we gather back here in Tampa seven months from now for our convention, ours will be a united party with a winning ticket for America.” 
 
 Said Romney: “I stand ready to lead this party and to lead our nation.” 
 
 Romney’s final victory margin may tighten as returns come in from Florida’s conservative western Panhandle. But with a majority of votes reported, Romney appeared on the brink of an important symbolic accomplishment: winning more votes than Gingrich and Santorum — the two would-be anti-Romney conservatives — combined. 
 
 That won’t put to rest questions about Romney’s ability to connect with and fire up the activist base of the Republican Party. It may, however, deprive his beleaguered opponents of a key argument they’ve used to explain their persistence in the race. 
 
 Romney won with both men and women and in every age and income group, according to network exit polls. He won a majority of white voters — 53 percent — and 44 percent of Latinos. 
 
 The only conspicuous bright spot for Gingrich was voters who described themselves as “very conservative,” who made up 33 percent of the electorate and broke for Gingrich over Romney, 43 percent to 29 percent. 
 
 In his own evening speech in Orlando, Gingrich insisted that Florida had only helped to reinforce the overarching narrative of the campaign. 
 
 “It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, Newt Gingrich, and the Massachusetts moderate,” Gingrich said. “The voters of Florida really made that clear.” 
 
 With supporters waving signs that read, “46 States to Go,” Gingrich vowed: “We are going to contest every place and we are going to win and we will be in Tampa as the nominee in August.” 
 
 Gingrich will be hard-pressed to keep up with Romney, financially and organizationally — a dynamic already in play in Florida. 
 
 The dramatic scale of Romney’s win is in some respects a tale of traditional campaign legwork and preparation paying off. The Bay Stater raised money faster and earlier, built an operation in Florida sooner, and worked aggressively to exploit the state’s early and absentee voting laws.
– The big news organizations couldn't call this one fast enough. The moment the last of the Florida polls closed at 8pm, AP, CNN, and all the usual suspects declared Mitt Romney the winner. It wasn't tough: With all precincts reporting, Romney had 46.4%, Newt Gingrich 31.9%, Rick Santorum 13.4%, and Ron Paul 7%. In their respective speeches, Gingrich made clear that he is in the race for the long run, while Romney put all his focus on President Obama. Click for that. Some exit poll highlights: Electability: 45% said it was the most important attribute in a candidate, a good sign for Romney. Conservatives: Voters who called themselves "very conservative" went for Gingrich 43-29, one of Newt's few bright spots, notes Politico. Anyone else? About 4 in 10 said they would like another candidate in the race. Women: Romney won among female voters 51-29, reports the Daily Caller. Economy: 30% said they were falling behind financially, and half said foreclosures were a big problem in their communities, notes AP. Negative ads: 37% said Romney ran the most unfair campaign, while 34% pinned it on Gingrich. Demographics: About 1 in 7 voters were Hispanic, and 4 in 10 were over age 65.