Less than two weeks ago, polls were showing Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich leading Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Florida GOP primary.
Today, Romney is celebrating a double-digit victory in the most important primary to date in the volatile race for the GOP presidential nomination.
It was Gingrich who came to Florida with the wind at his back, riding a wave of momentum following a triumphant victory in the South Carolina primary.
So, exactly how did Romney turn the tide and open up such a commanding lead? Was it his political prowess, his revamped debating skills, or his newly
found aggressiveness?
Sure, each of these facets played a role in the high-stakes presidential primary election. But the real determining factor in capturing the largest primary-holding state this year was money — lots of it.
According to a report from ABC News released on Friday, the Romney campaign and his super PAC were outspending Gingrich and his allies by a margin of four to one on television ads.
On Sunday, those numbers inched closer to a margin of five to one, with the Gingrich campaign floundering in the expensive media markets throughout the state.
The Gingrich campaign didn’t even purchase TV time in the big-ticket markets of South Florida. The reason being it was too expensive.
“We are not a campaign of means,” Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond told Time magazine on Monday.
The pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future neglected to spend heavily in the state until last week. Meanwhile, the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future dished out millions in Florida long before the primary was held.
The media content became increasingly lopsided as primary day approached, with Romney and his super PAC spending a combined $15.4 million on television and radio advertising.
Compare that with Gingrich and his allies, who spent a measly $3.7 million in advertising.
Negative advertising was the tone of the primary, Gingrich being the primary target.
Negative ads accounted for 92 percent of political ads airing in Florida over the last week — a record rate for political campaigns, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks advertising content and spending.
Of all the campaign commercials aired in Florida over the last week, 68 percent were attacks
on Gingrich.
The spending gap seen between the candidates allowed for a primarily one-sided flow of information with little counter from Gingrich.
With a one-sided flow of information, Romney used the negative aura surrounding Gingrich in attacks during recent televised debates.
Romney didn’t just sharpen his campaign style following the defeat in South Carolina — he opened his wallet to reshape the GOP contest.
When Gingrich surged in the polls in Florida following his victory in South Carolina, Romney and his backers blanketed the state with negative ads, focusing on the critical population centers of Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
Many observers are highlighting the fact that Romney didn’t win Florida on substance, but instead on an overflow of negative advertising that effectively drowned out his opposition.
“After failing to gain traction with Republican voters in South Carolina, anemic frontrunner Mitt Romney turned to a scorched-earth spending approach in a desperate move to secure a victory,” Florida Democratic Party spokesman Brannon Jordan told Talking Points Memo.
The fact that Romney needed such a drastic approach to secure a victory should suggest he’s not as strong a candidate as the primary
results indicate.
Romney not only proved capable of running the most negative campaign in history, but he proved just how easy it is to buy an election.
Matthew Westfall is a 23-year-old mass communication senior form Winchester, Va. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_mwestfall
____
Contact Matthew Westfall a [email protected]