Final Round

Candidates Attack Romney, Each Other

As frontrunner's lead widens.

Mitt Romney weathered attacks from all his rivals during Monday night’s debate as they tried to get in any final jabs before what could be the decisive primary in the GOP race. It may be too little too late: according to a new Washington Post-ABC national poll, Romney now has a 2–1 lead over Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, who are neck and neck for second place. Though Romney was the primary target of his opponents’ attacks, they've also been helping him by viciously attacking each other. Yesterday, Gingrich told voters that a vote for Santorum was a vote for Romney and then made fun of him for getting trounced in Pennsylvania. Santorum responded by pointing out Gingrich's losses in Iowa and New Hampshire. And everyone—including the audience—attacked Ron Paul for his criticism of the killing of Osama bin Laden.