SPECIAL POST-PRIMARY EDITION OF THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWS CLIPS — FEBRUARY 1

**The five numbers you need to know**

• Republican turnout was down 15-percent from ’08, signs of a serious enthusiasm gap.
• 92-percent of the ads run last week were negative, less than 0.1-percent of ads run were positive Romney ads.
• Romney’s negative rating amongst independents spiked from 29-percent in December to 42-percent by the end of January — the race to the bottom has damaged Romney’s brand.
• Almost 40-percent of Republicans said they “would like to see someone else” in the Republican race.

Watch MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell at 1:10pm to see FLA Dems Chairman Rod Smith explain why the toxic GOP Florida primary has damaged the Republican candidates moving forward.

Florida Democrats release new video declaring President Obama victor of Florida Primary [Talking Points Memo] “Titled ‘The Real Winner in Florida,’ Florida Democratic Party’s new video highlights the role the vicious ad wars are playing in the state. The winner may be Mitt Romney tonight, but the message Democrats are pushing is that the real winner of all the GOP infighting is President Obama.” Video here.

Tone of Florida fight makes GOP nervous [Politico]“Republican nervousness has already taken a new form: anxiety over the tone of a race that turned ugly here…’The idea that we would attack each other like this is frustrating and painful,’ said Lenny Curry, chairman of the Florida Republican Party”

Statement from Chairman Smith on GOP Primary results [Tampa Bay Times] “Florida voters want someone new to jump in this race – they know they can’t trust Mitt Romney to stand by his beliefs or stand by anything that helps average Americans get ahead.”

A brutal primary [WJXT] “Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith said Romney’s bombardment of Gingrich had tarnished his future prospects in the state. ‘He may have won this contest, but he lost the opportunity to win the hearts and minds of the people of Florida,’ Smith said.”