Yikes, this isn't even going to be close. Mitt Romney is opening up a massive lead in Florida, the state that could be the front-runner's capstone to securing the nomination. A Rasmussen poll yesterday put Romney more than 20 points ahead of the nearest candidate. He drew 41 percent to 19 percent for Newt Gingrich. Rick Santorum had 15 percent, and everyone else was in the single digits.
At least in Florida, Gingrich maintains his spot as the most viable anti-Romney alternative, but that's an increasingly tiny segment of the polling population. Romney's standing in Florida should only rise further after he is endorsed by Jeb Bush-a popular former governor in a state where his last name maintains more respectability than it does in the rest of the country. And just in case Rick Santorum's rise carries over to a top-two finish in South Carolina, the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future is running ads against Santorum. The commercial claims Santorum "pushed for billions in wasteful pork" and that "he even voted to let convicted felons vote." That second part is a particularly powerful argument in Florida, where Governor Rick Scott rescinded voting-registration rights for convicted felons.
