We should be wary of calling this race over yet, despite Romney's knee-capping of Newt last night. It looks as if Romney may will win in Florida after that debate and with a big ad advantage – but I'll be looking to see how well he does in the panhandle most of all. One stat leaps out from the new NBC/WSJ poll [PDF]:
Gingrich leads Romney in a four-way matchup, including Santorum and Paul, with “very conservatives” (47 percent to 17 percent), Tea Party supporters (46 percent to 21 percent), and in the South (45 percent to 21 percent). Those numbers gets even bigger in a two-way matchup. For example, in the South, one-on-one with Romney, Gingrich leads 65 percent to 28 percent.
The poll was started after the SC victory and before the Florida debates, so that may skew things in this volatile race. But that kind of advantage with Southern voters, if they do not agree to rally around the Romney establishment, means Super Tuesday becomes much more important.
My own suspicion is that many Southern Christianists will vote for the not-Mormon. I suspect Newt has a better chance of getting that role than Santorum.
The Dish 