Tallahassee, FL —  Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith issued the following statement tonight in response to the results in tonight’s GOP presidential primary election:

“Mitt Romney won in Florida tonight for a very simple reason — he ran the most negative primary contest ever. Romney and his allies outspent Newt Gingrich by nearly 5-to-1, almost all of it on negative advertising. He may have won this contest, but he lost the opportunity to win the hearts and minds of the people of Florida. Floridians, like all Americans, are looking for positive ideas that will rebuild an economy that works for the middle class. But they won’t find them during this primary campaign. Instead, Romney has flipped between negative attacks on Gingrich and distortions to his own positions, in a blatant attempt to pander to seniors and Latino voters. There’s a reason a vast majority of 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.”

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