“With all the speculation lately of Santorum dropping out and supporting Romney, how do you know it’s not Romney he’s taking a bite out of. If you’re a Newt supporter and you still want to win and you’re guy still is polling in the 30’s and not that far away, what sense does it make to give your vote to a guy who’s in the teens?”
Because they’d think Newt can’t make it through all the attacks and his debate performance wasn’t as amazing as it was hyped up to be.
Your argument doesn’t stand up well in light of what’s going on. Who says Newt can’t stand up in the face of the attacks? How much of an attack has there ever been against Santorum in this campaign? Almost none. He is a nice guy but in the context of this Florida primary I can tell you he is considered an also-ran, as is Ron Paul. If you don’t believe me, just check the Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald or Orland Sun.
If you think a strong debate performance has moved the S. Florida Hispanic vote, or the panhandle military vote away from Newt and to Santorum in any substantial numbers, this is not the case. This is a 2-man race for Florida.
I am not saying that Rick is not worthy of respect, but he is not going to finish anywhere but 3rd and don’t expect that a lot of pissed off conservatives who have seen Romney’s and the establishment’s dirty campaigning against Newt play out here are now going to reward Romney by voting for Rick Santorum. We still have 5 days to go. By Tuesday, this debate will be a distant memory, just as Newt’s fantastic debates last week are a distant memory now.