With Florida voters arriving at polls to cast their votes for the Florida primary today, Mitt Romney is expected to make a comeback after his loss to Newt Gingrich in South Carolina on Jan. 21.
Romney leads Gingrich, with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul following far behind, according to a recent poll from Insider Advantage.
Belinda Davis, political science professor, predicts Romney will win the Florida primary.
“The polls indicate that he already has [made a comeback since the South Carolina primary],” she said. “He has a double-digit lead in most polls.”
Davis said the race has also become increasingly negative since Gingrich’s success in South Carolina.
“Romney realized that he was going to have to go on the offensive despite his front-runner status,” she said.
While Romney’s and Gingrich’s names have dominated the political arena in recent days, Santorum and Paul continue to have a steady and persistent following.
In a recent poll of students belonging to the University of Florida College Republicans, 41 percent favored Romney, while 26 percent of students favored Paul.
Davis said she doesn’t anticipate that Santorum or Paul will drop from the race any time soon.
“I think they will continue to vie for delegates in the states with proportional division of the delegates,” she said. ”This gives them some influence at the Republican Convention.”
Although Romney may seem like the inevitable candidate to many, Paul, who kicked off his Youth for Ron Paul tour at the LSU Union Theater in September, has racked up support from college students across the country.
During the CNN Republican debate Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., college students surrounded pundits and shouted their support for Paul.
Phil Langella, sociology freshman, said he agrees with Paul on many issues.
“In his speeches, he talks about going back to the Constitution and getting rid of big government,” he said. “I can’t support him 100 percent because he sometimes changes his opinions, but I like his ideas.”
Andrew Robison, international studies freshman, said he thinks Paul cares less about money and more about the issues concerning the average American.
“I feel like Romney and Gingrich are more concerned about protecting people like them that are wealthy,” he said.
But James DeVaughn, chemistry sophomore, said he thinks college students have another agenda.
“It’s not my personal opinion, but I think a lot of students support Paul because he wants to legalize pot,” he said. “So many students make that their No. 1 issue.”
 
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected].