Photo: Mitt Romney during Florida Primary night. (Getty Images)
Mitt Romney just won the 2012 Republican Florida Primary by a wide margin, but he doesn't have anything locked up yet. So much for instant gratification. "Florida, Florida, Florida" is the mantra made famous by the late NBC newsman Tim Russert about how important the Sunshine State was to the 2000 presidential election. 12 years later, the state will be crucial again when Barack Obama faces off with his Republican opponent this November. But first the Republicans have to continue duking it out amongst themselves to figure out who will get the chance to face the president. What went down in Florida? What does it all mean? Why should you care? And when is this going to be over? We'll tell you.
+ Young Voters Go To Romney, For A Change
In 2008 young voters 18-29 made up 7% of the total GOP (Grand Old Party, aka the Republicans) primary voters. They voted this time around at 6% of the total primary voters-- about the same rate. According to CIRCLE, only 4% of eligible youth voters showed up at the polls. Where is everybody? Ron Paul had been cleaning his opponents clocks -- with young voters flocking to him more than his peers in all three of the first states to vote. But in Florida Romney took home the youth vote with 39%, 26% went with Paul, 23% with Newt, and 12% with Santorum. Part of the reason Paul performed poorly is because this primary was "closed" -- only Republicans, not Independents, could vote today. If his previous support is any indication, without young voters propelling Paul, he's going to have a much harder time making much more noise in 2012.
+ The Early Bird Gets The Worm
The New York Times reports up to 30% of voters cast their ballots in Florida BEFORE Election Day. Florida is the first primary state to use early voting, and CBS News says Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won up to half of those voters with the other candidates -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul battling for the others. The big question here: was a week of early voting too much? What if voters wanted to change their minds? One person who may feel that way is Newt Gingrich. What do you think about early voting? Let us know.
+ The Right To Vote Is Under Attack
Florida is ground zero in one of the most serious battles over voting rights this country has seen in decades. I've been fighting the war on low American voter turnout for over five years as part of WhyTuesday.org. It's why I went to Iowa to ask Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum what they'd do to increase America's lousy voter turnout and protect the right to vote. Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 there have been few attempts to restrict the franchise as serious as we're seeing right now across the nation. As MTV News has reported, in Florida, for years registration groups like the League of Women voters has registered both Republican and Democratic voters but a new law there has stopped them in their tracks. Early voting has also been rolled back as has "souls-to-the-polls," where many churches would get out the vote after Sunday church services. Stay tuned here as we stick to this story like glue.
+ Does Anyone Like a Negative Nancy?
When I asked Newt Gingrich in Iowa what will increase America's lousy voter turnout -- he said "positive campaigns." It's too bad then he decided, as did Mitt Romney, to air a combined $20 million in negative ads, according to CBS News. Seems like money not well spent, as young folks don't appear to be fazed by the nasty ads. That said, none of us should be proud that Florida just played host to the most negative primary in the history of modern politics.
+ We've STILL Got A Long Way To Go
Even though Mitt Romney cleaned house in Florida, this campaign is far from over. As NBC's Chuck Todd pointed out, after Florida only 5% of total delegates that a candidate needs to win the Republican nomination will have been awarded. And even if Romney won all subsequent contests, he wouldn't lock up the nomination until late April. Ouf. Don't go anywhere -- we'll continue to break down, decode and translate all this crazy politics for you over the course of the next 11 months.
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