Live blog of tonight’s GOP debate in Tampa, Fla.
Mitt Romney will be seeking to rebound and Newt Gingrich to show he’s more than a one-state wonder as the Republican presidential candidates hold the first of two debates in the week leading up to the Florida primary.
Romney, beaten by Gingrich in South Carolina but banking all along on a win in Florida, has been previewing a more aggressive line of attack against the former House speaker during the past two days.
“He’s gone from pillar to post, almost like a pinball machine, from item to item, in a way which is highly erratic and does not suggest a stable, thoughtful course, which is normally associated with leadership,’’ Romney said today in Tampa, Fla.
Gingrich tweaked the former Massachusetts governor in his reply.
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“It used to be ‘pious baloney,’ but now it’s just desperate baloney,’’ he said, recalling a retort he used to Romney during the New Hampshire primary campaign. “Perhaps he’ll be able to open a delicatessen.’’
Romney, Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul are debating for 90 minutes at the University of South Florida in Tampa, starting at 9 p.m. EST. The forum is cosponsored by The Tampa Bay Times, NBC News, the National Journal, and the Florida Council of 100, a Florida public policy nonprofit.
It will be broadcast locally on WHDH-TV, Channel 7.
“Political Intelligence’’ will offer a live blog of the debate about 20 minutes before it started.
The Globe’s Matt Viser and Michael Levenson are providing spot coverage of the debate for boston.com, BostonGlobe.com, and The Boston Globe.
Check “Political Intelligence’’ tomorrow morning for my debate analysis.
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