Story highlights Romney campaign disputes Gingrich's denial that he resigned in disgrace Newt Gingrich says Mitt Romney makes false statements in debates and ads Gingrich is trailing Romney in the latest polls two days before the Florida primary Rick Santorum cancels campaign events due to his daughter's hospitalization.
Front-runners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich traded accusations of dishonesty Sunday as the increasingly vitriolic Republican presidential campaign headed for its biggest primary to date. With two days to go before Florida voters decide who gets the state's winner-take-all 50 delegates, Romney held a widening lead over Gingrich in the competition to become the first of the four remaining candidates to win two contests in this year's nominating process.
With former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum canceling campaign events Sunday because of his young daughter's hospitalization and Texas Rep. Ron Paul forgoing Florida to focus on Maine, Romney and Gingrich shared the spotlight in the Sunshine State and continued to ratchet up the rhetoric. Stung by Romney's resurgence, which has benefited from strong debate performances last week and advertisements that harshly attacked Gingrich, the former House speaker accused Romney of waging a dishonest campaign.
Florida polls show Romney maintaining a lead. In particular, Gingrich cited Romney's claim that he had never voted for a Democrat when a Republican was on the ballot, including Romney's support for Democrat Paul Tsongas in the Massachusetts presidential primary.
Incumbent President George H. The debate also could be one of the last chances for other candidates to make an impression. Former U. Representatives Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul also will take part. All four have been aggressive in criticizing rivals in past debates, and they will have more time to talk as the stage will be less crowded than in earlier debates.
Gingrich seemed to split with Romney Saturday night when asked about negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan. After Romney said he would not negotiate with the group, Gingrich was asked if you can win the war without doing so. But Gingrich declined to elaborate on his previous criticism of Romney, who he has suggested would be a manager as president, not a transformative leader.
Asked if he would discuss that view, Gingrich simply said "no," going on to say the focus should be on the fact that Romney and the other candidates are superior to President Obama. Romney, meanwhile, said the United States is in a trade war with China -- and that he would protect the middle class from China's economic posture.
The debate, moderated by Pelley and National Journal congressional correspondent Major Garrett, was a prime platform for Paul to spotlight his opposition to much of the United States' military footprint abroad, an issue on which he differs strongly with his rivals.
Perry mocks self over brain-freeze gaffe. Paul also said the U. Since , the winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to win the Republican nomination every time.
And like national Republican voters, seven in ten of whom say it's too early to know who they'll support, CBS News interviews in the state find voters here show no sign they have started to make up their mind. Twitter Facebook. Aside from Romney versus Gingrich, the other five candidates on stage will be lining up to take a swing at the front-runners in an effort to boost their own chances with a little more than three weeks remaining until the Iowa caucuses.
Reports from Iowa and strong recent polling suggest that Ron Paul, a libertarian-leaning veteran candidates, could cause an upset by winning the caucuses thanks to a groundswell of support and a vibrant campaign in the Hawkeye state. Paul's threat could see him attract more hostility from his rivals on stage, who are likely to take aim at his opposition to US military involvement abroad. This article is more than 9 years old.
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