- Mitt’s it!: ABC News, among other outlets, has projected that Mitt Romney is the winner of the 2012 Florida GOP Primary. This was not a surprising result — he’d led chief rival Newt Gingrich in the polls by double digits coming into today, and by double digits it seems he will win. He presently leads Gingrich by about 16%, with close to 50% of all Florida precincts reporting. Newt Gingrich is projected to place in second, with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul trailing in third and forth, respectively. Now, the campaigns move on to Nevada (though both Paul and Santorum left Florida early, ceding their chances in Florida to get a head-start in the Silver State), where Newt Gingrich faces a tall order indeed; his campaign has nowhere near the organization and ground game that Romney’s does there, and after this decisive loss he needs a roaring comeback to stay viable. (Photo by Erik Hersman) source