Must read tweet from @JeremySWallace: “@newtgingrich actually won more Florida Counties than @MittRomney (34 to 33) But most of the wins in smaller rural in north Florida”

Chairman Rod Smith on Andrea Mitchell Reports: “Bin Laden is dead and GM is hiring.” Watch video here [MSNBC]

MORE SIGNS OF THE DAMAGING PRIMARY:

Republican Party Surveys the wreckage of Florida primary [The Atlantic] “The Republican Party fears it might have accidentally destroyed its village in order to save it. Just after Mitt Romney gave his victory speech in Florida Tuesday night, Sarah Palin — who fought with the McCain campaign in 2008 because she wanted to be meaner — was on Fox News fretting that the $17 million spent on negative ads in the state had hurt Republicans for the general election. “

Republicans worried about nastiness between Romney and Gingrich [Newsmax] “In the past week, you had former Massachusetts Gov. Romney trash-talking Gingrich for weak debate performances and former House Speaker Gingrich accusing his rival of insulting Jews and Catholics.”

Does drop in Fla. Primary mean GOP has an enthusiasm gap [Palm Beach Post] “‘They had touted that they would be breaking the 2008 record,’ she said. ‘Bottom line is this was a high profile primary, but Florida GOP (voters), like Republican voters across the country, are disenchanted with their party’s candidates and turned off by the negative ads that do nothing to lay out the GOP’s vision for the nation.’ Jordan’s argument was bolstered by a study released Sunday by the Pew Research Center, which found that 52 percent of registered Republicans nationwide, interviewed last week, felt the GOP field of candidates is “fair or poor.”

Obama’s Florida Supporters [Jewish Week] “Mark Alan Siegel, vice chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, expressed optimism that Obama would capture more of the Jewish vote in November than the 78 percent he garnered in 2008. ‘The differences between [political] parties has never been wider and clearer,’ he explained. ‘The four Republican candidates cheer for executions and death through sickness. And they are interested in the State of Israel only for their own purposes — not Israel’s —and associate with the worst elements in the Israeli system.’”

Democrats emboldened by Republican Primary race [Boston Globe] “In Florida, Leesfield said he watched the negative ads and said ‘it put me into high gear.’ He had planned to raise money for Obama, but said he was now ‘exponentially more’ interested in encouraging his fundraising network to give to Obama’s campaign.”

ACTION SHIFTS BACK TO THE LEGISLATURE

Off with his head! [The Current] “Mike Haridopolos announced Wednesday that he is reshuffling committee chairs amid a contentious debate over prison privatization, in a shakeup that could affect other issues moving through the Senate. Haridopolos announced Wednesday he is removing Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, a vocal critic of the move to privatize South Florida prisons, from the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, which he previously chaired.”

Unions defend Fasano [Miami Herald] “The state’s top unions issued the following statements today in response to Senate President Mike Haridopolos’ decision to remove Sen. Mike Fasano from his post as chairman of the Senate budget committee that handles prison funding.”

Support for prison privatization plan may be crumbling [Orlando Sentinel] “A massive plan to privatize 28 correctional facilities in South Florida appeared to be crumbling Wednesday as opposition to the plan that would cost the region nearly 4,000 jobs rose in the Florida Senate.”

In these tough times, let’s cut the corporate income tax [AP] ” A divided Florida House panel on Wednesday moved ahead with a bare-bones budget for the coming year that raises the cost of college in the state, eliminates thousands of state jobs and cuts health care programs… and sets aside money to pay for a sprinkling of tax cuts, including a small cut in the corporate income tax sought by Gov. Rick Scott.”

OTHER RACES

Rubio’s bill imposes religious agenda in workplace [Tampa Bay Times Editorial] ” The Florida Republican introduced a bill this week that would allow any employer with religious objections to avoid covering contraception in its employee health insurance plan. Rubio claims this would promote religious liberty. But whose? Certainly not the religious liberty of female employees. Rubio’s bill, which has 20 co-sponsors including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, is an attempt to extend religious dictates beyond the confines of churches and religious orders and impose them on a secular staff.”

Hasner officially switches races, drops Senate bid [AP] “Hasner on Wednesday announced that he will instead run for Congress, taking advantage of an opportunity created when Republican U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney and Allen West decided to change districts.”