As various polls monitoring the Florida Republican primary predicted over the past week, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney soundly defeated former House Speaker Newt Gingrich by 14 points, 46 to 32 percent, on Tuesday night.

Despite Gingrich's massive Florida defeat, when he addressed his supporters Tuesday night after Romney's victory was assured, he remained resolute. He confirmed that he would not be leaving the primary race and even spoke of how he would commence his presidency "when elected"' in November.

With the campaign in Florida boiled down to a battle between Romney and Gingrich, the other rival candidates were overshadowed. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum received 13 percent of the votes while Texas Congressman Ron Paul received seven percent. Both men also indicated they had no intention of dropping out of the Republican nomination race, and both also virtually ignored the Florida primary to focus on campaigning in states holding contests in February.

Santorum expressed confidence despite his defeat, suggesting that Florida's primary results showed that Gingrich was unable to build on his previous victory, and that conservatives would rally around his candidacy as the viable, right-wing alternative to moderate Mitt Romney.

Ron Paul, speaking from his campaign in Nevada, said he was satisfied about his performance in Florida and was focused on winning the caucuses in Nevada scheduled for Saturday.

Some Republicans are concerned that the aggressive tone of the campaign between Romney and Gingrich is damaging the party, making whoever wins the nomination vulnerable against President Obama in the presidential elections. Addressing his supporters after his victory however, Romney emphasized his campaign's overall affinity with Republican interests. "A competitive primary does not divide us, it prepares us, and we will win," said Romney.

An estimated 1.6 million people voted in Tuesday's primary, out of some 4 million registered Republicans in Florida. This was some 300,000 votes less than the votes polled in the 2008 Republican primary. Miami political analyst, Stephan Rodman, taking note of this significant decline in voter turnout, believes Republicans should be concerned, as the decline suggests that some Republicans in Florida may be disenchanted with the party or with the candidates seeking the nomination.

The victory gave Romney all 50 of Florida's convention delegates, giving him a total of 84 of the 1144 delegates required to win the nomination. Gingrich now has 27 delegates, Paul 10 and Santorum eight.

February is a crucial month in the Republican primary calendar. Other caucuses will be held in Maine from February 4 to 11, and in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri on February 7. Primaries will be held in Arizona and Michigan on February 28. These contests are a prelude to Super Tuesday, March 6, when 10 states will hold either primaries or caucuses.

Most analysts still believe that despite Gingrich's vow to continue through 46 additional state contests through to the Republican national convention, the depth of Romney's financial resources, proven in his massive television ad campaign in Florida, makes Gingrich severely handicapped to rebound from his defeat to win the nomination.

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