Coming off a double-digit loss in South Carolina, ANYthing could have happened.

Mitt Romney faced bitter assessments of his performance from both conservative and liberal media.  Democrats began making deposits for airtime to start driving nails into Romney’s “coffin.”    Big Labor pitched in $800,000 to help saturate expensive Florida radio and TV markets with anti-Romney messages.  Tea Party, Pro-Life and Evangelicals were eager to work the ground for Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

But Romney delivered.  Florida voters didn’t react to the massive media messaging as much as they did to the pivotal debates.  Romney won both, handily.

Perhaps the most amazing comments have come from the influential former leader of the Christian Right, Ralph Reed.  On CNN, Reed called Romney’s win:

“An across the board sweep.  John McCain won this Primary in 2008 by only five points.  Mitt Romney has won by at least 12, and without endorsements from Jeb Bush OR Marco Rubio. ”

Reed continued, “It was very impressive overall.  Romney actually split the Evangelical vote, and won the Catholic vote by 26 points with TWO Catholics on the ballot.

Very impressively Romney  split the evangelical vote, won the Catholic vote, won the Latino vote,  and overwhelmingly won over women voters…perhaps the most coveted demographic of all.

Reed went on to explain that Romney picked up more Evangelicals in Florida, because they are not as closeted in the giant state as perhaps in South Carolina.  Ultimately though, the economy drove Romney’s win, and the angst Floridians have about the lack of jobs and tourism in the state.

While the upcoming February states look strong for a continuing Romney romp in the coming weeks, there are dangers ahead.  Caucus states have to be won, and they are fertile places for the strongest conservatives to work surprises.

The Evangelical vote will not be as able to convert to Romney votes in the Southern States on Super Tuesday.  So the Romney won’t be able to let up.

But Ralph Reed made it clear, old prejudices towards the former Massachusetts Governor are fading away.  Americans are voting their pocketbooks and they want someone at the helm who KNOWS HOW.  How to fix the crumbling U.S. economy.  Even Pro-Life voters were split between Romney and Gingrich, despite carpet-bombing of that issue by the Gingrich campaign.  Nothing stuck.

So much for a “25% ceiling of support.”  Media figures like David Gergen and James Carville have comforted their liberal followers by cheering that Mitt Romney just hasn’t been able to capture the heart of the GOP beyond 25%.

In Florida, he did.

Gingrich didn’t stop to congratulate Romney on his win.  He is off to Nevada to begin his “46 state plan.”  There can be no “50 state” plan, because the Gingrich campaign has failed to qualify to be on all the state ballots.  But Gingrich, never washed up, and never tiring of his own battles, or frankly, the sound of his own voice…..says he’s going all the way to the GOP convention in August.

Ron Paul will see him there.  Rick Santorum will have an important role to play as well.

But the main stage will likely belong to…Mitt Romney.

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Filed under: Economy, Featured, Inside The KC, Politics by Sonja Eddings Brown, Jan 31, 2012