Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, said Tuesday he remains confident of his chances of securing a victory in Tuesday’s Florida primary.
“As I go to Nevada and Minnesota and Missouri and Colorado and Arizona, and the list goes on and on, that I’ll be able to get a lot of support in part because of the response here of people in Florida,” the Massachusetts Republican told supporters.
Mr. Romney was ahead in statewide polls in Florida late Monday and was expected to do well against Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, in Tuesday’s voting. He scheduled campaign events Wednesday in Minnesota and Las Vegas, following the released of Florida’s election results late Tuesday.
The Florida election comes as Mr. Romney and his allies have spent millions pummeling Mr. Gingrich with negative ads on Florida’s airwaves. Mr. Gingrich has called it a “carpet-bombing” that left him unable to respond in kind. Mr. Romney, citing his loss in South Carolina, on Tuesday resumed his attacks on Mr. Gingrich.
“In South Carolina, we were vastly outspent with negative ads attacking me, and we stood back and spoke about President Obama and suffered the consequence of that,” Mr. Romney said in a news conference. “I’ll tell you, if you attack me, I’m not going to just sit back. I’m going to fight back, and I’m going to fight back hard.”
On Monday, the Massachusetts Republican labeled Mr. Gingrich an untrustworthy Washington influence-peddler. His constant linking of Mr. Gingrich with the federally backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac has hurt the former speaker in a state wracked by the foreclosure crisis.
