USA: Florida voters share their opinions just days before they head to the ballet boxes in a Republican primary election that has Mitt Romney widening his lead over Newt Gingrich in the Sunshine State

Record ID: 347864

  • Title: USA: Florida voters share their opinions just days before they head to the ballet boxes in a Republican primary election that has Mitt Romney widening his lead over Newt Gingrich in the Sunshine State
  • Date: 30th January 2012
  • Summary: MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 28, 2012) (REUTERS) SOUTH BEACH STREET MIAMI BEACH SIGN PEOPLE ON BIKES VARIOUS BAGEL RESTAURANT PEOPLE EATING INSIDE COUNTER BAGELS IN BASKETS WOMAN DRINKING HER COFFEE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHUCK ASERNO, FLORIDA RESIDENT, SAYING: "I'm very concerned about the way the Republicans are beating the hell out of each other
  • Embargoed: 14th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAABKVINJCXNDSI4RYJDA54WQH5
  • Story Text: One of two Republican rivals, Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich, is likely to face President Barrack Obama in a bid for the presidency in November. But many Florida voters on Saturday (January 28) seemed split between the two leading candidates who have been involved in a seesawing campaign season so far.
    With just two days remaining before Florida's Republican primary, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, led Gingrich, a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, by 43 percent to 32 percent among likely voters in Florida's primary, according to a Reuters/Ipsos online poll released on Saturday (January 28).
    Republican candidates have been courting Florida voters in a final push for Tuesday's (January 31) vote.
    Bobby Falack, a Miami Beach resident, said he has made up his mind.
    "My vote is going to be with Mitt Romney. [WHY?] Because I feel that he's got a lot of potential. I feel that his ways and he gets his message across and I think that we're due for a change right now," he said.
    With 19 million people, Florida is the most populous of presidential swing states.
    Karina Klee, a sunbather on Miami Beach, said neither Republican candidate is a match for Obama.
    "I like Obama. I think he's a very smart person and he's doing very well. I think he's a very good president," she said.
    At the Bagel Cove, a popular New York-style deli in North Miami, the political differences were as loaded as the corn beef and pastrami sandwiches.
    "I'm very concerned about the way the Republicans are beating the hell out of each other," said Chuck Aserno, a Florida resident.
    "I think all they're doing is making it more difficult for whoever wins this to win against President Obama. I'm supporting Mitt Romney because I think Mr. Gingrich just, he and I just don't agree on how he comes across. I think this whole Republican party is so screwed up because they have allowed each other to eat each other's lunch and when it's all said and done, the Democrats will just just sit there and feast on it and that is of great concern to me and I know to many other Republicans," he added.
    Desire Davila, a Florida Democrat who decided to listen to what Republican candidates had to offer, said she was appalled at Gingrich's proposal to establish a colony on the moon when his own country has such a long road ahead to recovery.
    "Last night I saw Newt's conversation about 2020 and the moon when people here can't afford their upside-down homes," she said Back on Miami Beach, Giovanni Ferraro, said that everyone is too quick to point out where President Obama has failed to deliver without considering the state of the country when he took office.
    "Unfortunately, Barrack Obama stepped into a very serious pile of dung when he took office and, you know, it would have been a miraculous feat for any individual to undo what George Bush had done. But he walked in and he's made some very important changes, policies and realistic changes that are beneficial to the public," said Ferraro.
    Florida's primary has increased in importance and could set the tone for the rest of the Republican contest after results in three states produced three different winners, especially in the South Carolina primary where Gingrich's surprise win dealt a blow to Romney's initial lead.
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