Newt Gingrich Takes A Backseat To Mitt Romney On The Florida Airwaves
EmailABC News’ Michael Falcone reports:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Newt Gingrich is not just getting outspent by Mitt Romney and his allies on the Florida airwaves, he’s getting creamed.
The Romney campaign and a super PAC supporting him is spending nearly quadruple the amount that Gingrich and the pro-Gingrich super PAC, Winning Our Future, has spent to air television and radio ads ahead of the state’s Jan. 31 primary.
So far, Romney has bought $5.6 million worth of airtime and the pro-Romney super PAC, Restore Our Future, has shelled out a whopping $8.2 million, according to a Republican media buyer who is tracking ad spending in the state.
Compare that to $837,000 spent by the Gingrich campaign and the nearly $3 million of airtime bought by Winning Our Future, a super PAC supporting the former House speaker, and it’s easy to understand one reason why Gingrich has slipped in the most recent polls in the Sunshine State.
Pro-Romney forces are using the vast majority of the $13.9 million they’ve spent to buy up television airtime on broadcast stations in the Miami, Tampa and Orlando areas – population centers that will be critical to the former Massachusetts governor’s hopes of winning the state.
Gingrich is following a similar pattern, and Winning Our Future is also spending more than $1 million on radio ads. Cumulatively his campaign and the super PAC supporting him has purchased roughly $3.8 million of television and radio time.
These figures, which represent money that has already been spent in the Sunshine State, are approaching $20 million and the political ad spending is on pace to surpass that before next Tuesday.
Earlier this week, Winning Our Future was touting a fresh $5 million infusion of cash from the wife of the Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, but so far, the group has only spent a fraction of that total. Rick Tyler, a spokesman for the PAC, has pledged to buy up at least $6 million worth of airtime before voters go to the polls next Tuesday.
With less than four full days of campaigning left before the primary, Gingrich’s campaign unveiled a new ad on Friday accusing Romney of attempting to “mislead, distort and deceive just to win an election.”
At least one other group is play the anti-Romney game in Florida. The left-leaning labor union, AFSCME, has spent nearly $1 million on television ads hitting Romney, who is leading in the most recent polls in Florida.
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Romney is simply trying to buy the race, with negative ads, that are lies, deceit, and dishonesty. Not only against Gingrich, but every other candidate who rose in the polls, previously.
Voters should look at what kind of person he really is.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | January 27, 2012, 3:04 pm 3:04 pm
Romney has the money; he and the GOP establishment are going to buy the nomination. He lies about everything. The problem is Newt doesn’t have the money to fight back. That won’t happen in the general election.
All the republicans were touting Newt’s debating skills. He can’t even debate lightweight Mitt Romney and win. How would he do against President Obama?
Posted by: tmferretti | January 27, 2012, 3:14 pm 3:14 pm
Newt is the WORST of all for LYING, and doing things that he shouldn’t. The ONLY reason Newt didn’t put out MORE VICIOUS ad is that he didn’t have enough money because NEWT is the KING of DIRT!
Posted by: demNme5 | January 27, 2012, 3:15 pm 3:15 pm
The experts said from the beginning that organization and money was key to winning this nomination. Candidates can play for cheaps in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Now the real money meets the road and the guy with the real money is gaining the (maybe final) advantage.
It will be a one man race after Florida and the guys who have all trashed each other for months will have to pull together. Romney will become a helluva guy overnight. What a joke!
Posted by: Dane Bly | January 27, 2012, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
The middle class is hurting. They will never vote for a wealthy business man that enjoys all the benefits of being rich no matter how he tries to relate to them. If Mitt was like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, who started with nothing and used their talents to build a company that employs thousands, he might have a chance.
All Mitt did was take his father’s money, invest it, and reap the benefits. He has no more idea of how to create jobs than the man in the moon. He’s bought the nomination and he thinks he can buy the general election. He’s in for a rude awakening.
Posted by: tmferretti | January 27, 2012, 3:51 pm 3:51 pm
“Romney is simply trying to buy the race, with negative ads, that are lies, deceit, and dishonesty.”
Perhaps if I drank what you drink I might see how that’s much worse than Gingrich who lied, deceived, and was dishonest to his first wife, then his second wife. His first wife was suffering from uterine cancer while all this was going on, wasn’t she? Wasn’t Gingrich also penalized and thrown out of congress for ethics violation by his own party? Or was that simply a case of gross incompetence?
Posted by: VickG | January 27, 2012, 3:56 pm 3:56 pm
It is with great joy we watch the leftist attack Mitt…. Especially when they pretend to be republican voters…. The anti-Mitt is simply Pro-oBama.
Posted by: American | January 27, 2012, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
Romney is damaged goods. He is a wimp who has never taken a stand on any issue. Obama will cream him if he gets the nomination. The establishment has picked Romney and now the voters are going like sheeple to vote for a man who loves socialized medicine.
Posted by: Adam | January 27, 2012, 5:00 pm 5:00 pm
GO MITT GO!!!! Smash that angry little toad!!!!
Keep the pedal to the metal for three more days and DON’T LET UP!!!
If we win in Florida on Tuesday, it’s all over! :-)
Posted by: Danram | January 27, 2012, 5:14 pm 5:14 pm
Wow lots of Romney hating in here. Mitt Romney is the best option Americans have at defeating Barack Obama. You might think he is a liar, however what will Obama do to Newt’s record of cheating on his wife while leading the crusade to oust Clinton for doing the same. While he was speaker of the US House of REPRESENTATIVES? These are people who represent us in Washington. The question is who do you want to be represented as? A sucessfull businessman, who has created thousands of jobs, raised a wonderful family, given generously to charity, and has no personal baggage? Or Newt Gingrich? It is dishonest to cheat on one’s wife. America used to be a place of traditional values. Can we wake up?
Posted by: Tj Mci | January 27, 2012, 5:17 pm 5:17 pm
Everyone has known for months that the GOP is going to run Romney. (Sure there’s a subset of Paul people, but they know he won’t be on the ticket so they don’t count.) But now some evangelical Christians have gulped down the camels of Newt’s infidelities, incompetence and dishonesty and lowered their moral standards to back him. It’s funny, true, but having shown what hypocrites they are, they’re still going to have to vote for Romney.
Posted by: Cassandra | January 27, 2012, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm
many people here think Newt is the worst…….I dont think you really know Santorum.
While i cant stand Newt, and i agree he is utterly repulsive,…do some research in Santorum…he is completely hateful, and (for lack of a better word) an extremist as well! Be very careful…Santorum (in my opinion) would be the cause of World War III…..
While I dont like Mitt….Mitt is an angel compared to these guys.
But the only true honest man up there is Ron Paul!
I wont vote for any of these other guys….however, just pointing out the Santorum nut. I wouldnt be surprised if he were to imprison people as heretics! Down with Santorum!
Lets go Ron!
Posted by: mqira | January 27, 2012, 5:35 pm 5:35 pm
Mitt has millions to spend to damage Newt! Newt has the power of WE THE PEOPLE! We share a common objective: TAKE BACK / RESTORE AMERICA. Millions of dollars against WE THE PEOPLE, power has the same effect as a nat gnawing on an elephant’s behind. Stand with and behind Newt Gingrich in Florida and all the voting States that come after Florida. NEWT GINGRICH and WE THE PEOPLE will achieve OUR objective: TAKE BACK / RESTORE America. Keep the faith and the conversation going!
Posted by: Helen Jenkins | January 27, 2012, 6:17 pm 6:17 pm
One of the responses said people should look at who Romney really is. How can you tell? It doesn’t make much difference, just wait a couple of years and he’ll have a different position.
Posted by: Mark Anderson | January 27, 2012, 9:08 pm 9:08 pm
First – I dont understand if we are electing a president or a father to a church or a priest to a temple ? President really has no rights to any of these laws. They are upto the house/senate.
The president is a leader to bring together the two parties on major issues of the nation. Pres Obama needs to be replaced since his ideas are taking us in the direction of civil war – either through class warfare or via his income redistribution – he is better maybe in china.
Mitt has policies very similar to Pres Obama and hence has no real weight. Newt has some past history with other colleagues including several republicans who are trying to side Mitt.
Newt – dont worry there are lot of people with you. Be yourself !
Posted by: ELECTME | January 27, 2012, 10:01 pm 10:01 pm
I wish all candidates had eactly the same amount to spend so we could see how wisely they would spend that money – and level the playing field. Yay to Mitt for being a successful businessman, but that doesn’t mean he should be able to buy an election. In Iowa, Romney’s expense per vote was approx $75 to Santorum’s $10, yet they both got about the same amount of votes. Same thing is happening in FL with Mitt outrageously outspending the others. We saw the same thing happen with Obama’s outrageous campaign expenses. And the extra dollars aren’t being spent to spread a message or ideas or a platform, but rather to smear the other candidates who don’t have the money to fight back.
IMHO, bottom line, Romney can spend all he wants. I don’t see how he can beat Obama with Romneycare strapped to his back, and that worries me.
Posted by: Cat | January 27, 2012, 10:53 pm 10:53 pm