Mitt Romney came alive in last week’s debates, while Newt Gingrich slumped. Romney has adopted a far more aggressive tone on the stump in Florida. Now, Romney is pulling away from Gingrich in the polls and seems all but assured of victory on Tuesday. But should the candidate really get the credit here?
A rival campaign source sends along this breakdown of the TV ad spending:
Gingrich campaign: $1,157,731
Winning Our Future (Gingrich super PAC): $2,232,074
Total pro-Gingrich: $3,389,805Romney campaign: $6,933,904
Restore Our Future (Romney super PAC): $8,455,383
Total pro-Romney: $15,389,287These ads are likely reaching, and affecting, a lot more Floridians than the debates did, and their messages are far more pointed — both Romney entities’ ads are overwhelmingly Gingrich-bashing. A similarly lopsided air attack in Iowa had a similar effect on Gingrich back in December, when the New Mitt had not yet emerged in debates.
