Newt Gingrich insisted the Republican presidential race would continue for “four or five months” even if he loses the Florida primary this week.

John Heilemann: “Pledges to continue the fight unabated in the face of harsh and/or humiliating outcomes are staples of presidential campaigns. And they are also patently meaningless. (Please recall Jon Huntsman’s feigned brio on the night of the New Hampshire primary — and his departure from the race a few days later.) But in Gingrich’s case, he might be serious, so much has he come to despise Romney and the Republican Establishment that has brought down on him a twenty-ton shithammer in Florida, and so convinced is he of his own Churchillian greatness and world-historical destiny. The same antic, manic, lunatic bloody-mindedness that has made him such a rotten candidate in the Sunshine State may be enough to keep him the race a good long time.”

“I think that the election will be substantially closer than the two polls that came out this morning. When you add the two conservatives together we clearly beat Romney,” Mr. Gingich said. “I think Romney’s got a very real challenge trying to get a majority at the convention.”

— Newt Gingrich, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, adding that the GOP presidential race is “going to be a straight-out contest for the next four or five months.”

A new NBC/Marist poll in Florida shows Mitt Romney on his way to a decisive victory in the state’s GOP presidential primary.

Romney leads Newt Gingrich by 15 points, 42% to 27%, followed by Rick Santorum at 16% and Ron Paul at 11%. Just 4% said they were undecided.

A new American Research Group poll shows Romney leading Gingrich by 11 points, 43% to 32%, followed by Santorum at 11% and Paul at 8%.

Nate Silver notes that about one-third of Floridians have already voted in the GOP presidential primary.

“Since Mr. Gingrich only led Mr. Romney for a few fleeting days in the polls, that means that Mr. Romney should have banked an advantage, and that Mr. Gingrich would need to win by perhaps 5 or 10 points on Election Day to claim the state. That could also lessen the impact of late-breaking developments in the news cycle — like Mr. Gingrich receiving the endorsement of Herman Cain.”

Nearly every Florida poll shows Mitt Romney with a solid lead in the GOP presidential primary.

A new Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times poll shows Romney at 42%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 31%, Rick Santorum at 14% and Ron Paul at 6%.

Said pollster Brad Coker: “What does Gingrich need to do? I would say Romney would need to implode. If there’s no 11th hour surprise, this race is looking right now like it’s over.”

Associated Press: “Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Then double that number. Now you’re in Romney territory. He would be among the richest presidents in American history if elected — probably in the top four.”

“What we saw with this ridiculous opposition dump on Newt was nothing short of Stalin-esque rewriting of history. It was Alinsky tactics at their worst.”

— Sarah Palin, writing on Facebook, defending Newt Gingrich against attacks made by Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney unleashed a very effective political ad today targeting Newt Gingrich in Florida which consists only of a clip of Tom Brokaw from “NBC Nightly News” on Jan. 21, 1997.

[Read more…]

Herman Cain threw his support to Newt Gingrich in the GOP presidential race, the Washington Post reports.

“The move by the former GOP candidate and tea-party favorite comes three days before the Florida primary, at a moment when Gingrich is badly in need of something to rekindle the momentum he gained in the wake of his South Carolina primary victory.”

Said Cain: “had it in my heart and mind a long time. Speaker Gingrich is a patriot. Speaker Gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Florida shows Mitt Romney leading Newt Gingrich among Republican primary voters by eight points, 40% to 32%, followed by Rick Santorum at 15% and Ron Paul at 9%.

A new War Room Logisitics (R) poll shows Romney leading Gingrich by 10 points, 40% to 30%, with Santorum at 15% and Paul at 6%.

A new Dixie Strategies/First Coast News poll in Florida shows Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich tied at 35% each, with Rick Santorum at 9% and Ron Paul at 7%.

Every other recent poll shows Romney with a single digit lead.

A new EPIC-MRA poll in Michigan finds Mitt Romney with a small lead in the GOP presidential race with 31%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 26%, Ron Paul at 14% and Rick Santorum at 10%.

The Michigan primary is scheduled for February 28.

The poll also shows President Obama leading both Romney, 48% to 40%, and Gingrich, 51% to 38%, in general election match ups.

We don’t know much about the financial backers of Super PACs, but investor Foster Friess gave a fascinating interview to Bloomberg TV on why he supports Rick Santorum.

Said Friess: “Sometimes I sit back in my armchair and say it would be neat if we could have Santorum as president and put Mitt Romney in charge of the entire economy. Do what we did with homeland security. Put all of the agencies under one roof and make Mitt Romney minister of the economy… I think if I suggested it [to Santorum], he would consider that fairly inappropriate at this stage. I would suggest to Rick that if he becomes president, just turn the keys over to Air Force One to Herman Cain and let him fly around the world selling America.”