MITT WINS FLORIDA

Graphic and detailed results from USA Today.

THE BIG THING

"The triumph by Mr. Romney offered a forceful response to the concerns that were raised about his candidacy only 10 days ago after a stinging loss to Mr. Gingrich in the South Carolina primary. It stripped Mr. Gingrich of his momentum and raised questions about his effort to persuade Republicans of his viability." - New York Times

"It was when he fought back against Gingrich’s campaign of defamation in the Florida debates that Romney re-established himself as the front-runner. It was, no doubt, good practice for a candidate to whom the rougher elements of the political game do not come easily." - Power Line

THE MESSAGE OF THE EXIT POLLS

• "According to exit poll data, Romney lost “very conservative voters” — who made up 33 percent of the Florida voters — to Gingrich, 43 percent to 29 percent. While Romney won 51 percent to 32 percent among “somewhat conservative” voters, he lost evangelical voters to Gingrich, albeit by a small margin, 39 percent to 36 percent." - Politico
• "In a positive sign for Gingrich, exit polls showed evangelical voters trending for the former House speaker. The exit polls showed Gingrich with 40 percent among that group, and Romney with 36 percent." - Fox News
• "While Romney bested the former House speaker narrowly among men, he strongly outdistanced him among women, winning 52 percent to 28 percent." - Huffington Post
• "Two in three Florida primary voters say the presidential debates were an important factor in their vote ... Electability was what Florida Republican voters were seeking in a candidate: 45 percent said the most important candidate quality is that they could defeat President Obama." - CBS

ROMNEY'S VICTORY

• "Bolstered by superior resources and a relentlessly aggressive style, Mitt Romney won a decisive victory in the Florida primary Tuesday night, dealing a major setback to principal rival Newt Gingrich while putting himself back into a commanding position in the race for the Republican presidential nomination." - Washington Post
• "The Romney win in Florida was huge. He won the hispanic vote. He split tea party activists and evangelicals. He won where people live. Gingrich won the panhandle and largely tied in the few northern Florida population centers, but it was Romney’s night." - RedState

EXPENSIVE ADVERTISING WON THE DAY

• "The former Massachusetts governor and his allies outspent the former House speaker and his friends by a 5-1 margin on Florida's pricey airwaves, according to some accounts. They blanketed the state with reminders of Gingrich's exhausting past, from the now infamous $1.6 million Freddie Mac payment to the $300,000 ethics fine that contributed to his ouster from the House leadership in the late 1990s." - CNN
• "Santorum (who got 222,248 votes) and Paul (who got 116,776 votes) didn’t buy any TV ads. Gingrich and his super PAC spent $3,277,268 on TV ads, and he got 531,294 votes.  Romney and his super PAC spent $15,538,515 on TV ads, and he got 771,842 votes." - Weekly Standard
• Romney votes cost 3 times Gingrich votes - Politico

GINGRICH'S WEAKNESSES

• He reacts badly to Romney's negative ads: "Gingrich's behavior had the same effect in Florida that it had in New Hampshire, which was to turn off voters who might otherwise be open to the Gingrich message." - Byron York
• "Although he offered a much more flexible and lenient policy on illegal immigration, Florida Hispanics gave Romney a 54 percent majority of their votes, nearly double the 28 percent for Gingrich." - National Journal
• "The Romney campaign and friendly groups spent heavily on Florida airwaves to highlight Gingrich’s vulnerabilities." - Washington Post

GINGRICH DEFIANT IN DEFEAT

• "Gingrich made clear that he plans to follow through on his promise to turn the Republican race into a months-long hunt for delegates. ... "46 States To Go," read a sign attached to the front of Gingrich's podium in Orlando." - CNN
• "In a dizzying display of campaign hubris with a pinch of denial... The former House speaker rattled off eight specific achievements that he promised to accomplish within a few hours of his inauguration, including five that he would enact by executive order" - Daily Caller
• "Magnanimous Newt was not in attendance. Apparently, no one had told the former House Speaker this was supposed to be a concession speech. Who knows, perhaps no one even told him he'd lost. He mentioned Romney only in passing - "Massachusetts moderate" - and never came close to congratulating him" - Toby Harnden

ROMNEY STILL HAS MAJOR WEAKNESSES

• "Despite the big win, more than four in 10 Florida voters see him as not conservative enough (including about one in 10 of his own supporters). And about three in 10 say they would be dissatisfied if Romney were the nominee." - Washington Post
• "After five weeks of primary and caucus fights, what did voters learn about Romney? ... He's a liar and a flip-flopper who will say anything to get elected. He's filthy rich. He likes to fire people. He made his fortune plundering companies and laying off workers." - National Journal
• "If you add Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum together, they come in a point behind Mitt Romney. But add in the bitter candidate clingers who just can’t let go... of Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman, and Herman Cain and suddenly, suddenly, the non-Romney’s win without even adding in Ron Paul." - RedState
• Republicans are not that excited about the race: "With nearly all of the votes counted, Republican turnout is about 1.7 million. By comparison, just under 2 million Republicans voted in Republican primary there in 2008." - Nate Silver

ON TO NEVADA

• "While rival Mitt Romney cruised to a commanding win in Florida, Paul and Santorum both spoke to supporters in Nevada, which holds its caucus Saturday." - AP
• "Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who won the 2008 Nevada caucus with over 50 percent of the vote but lost the nomination, has the backing of many prominent Nevada Republicans as well as an endorsement from the state's biggest newspaper." - Reuters
• "Nevada's caucus format also gives an edge to candidates with superior organizations, such as Messrs. Romney and Paul. And the state has a large number of voters who share Mr. Romney's Mormon faith." - WSJ
• ...but first: "Mitt Romney is ... jetting off this morning to Minnesota for what is billed as a “grassroots rally.” Why? Michele Bachmann, it seems. Aides to Romney and the Minnesota congresswoman have been in conversation in recent days about securing the candidate’s endorsement" - Boston Globe

Romney to receive Secret Service protection "within days" - CNN

Obamacare regulation tramples on religious freedom - Washington Examiner editorial

Democrats retain Oregon congressional seat in special election - CNN

> CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO CONSERVATIVEHOME'S DAILY EMAIL AND GET ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT GOP NEWS BY 7:00AM EST EVERY WEEKDAY.