Early Lead

Romney Likely to Win Florida

Gingrich refuses to give up.

The New York Times' resident numbers guy Nate Silver projects that Mitt Romney will take 44.2 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary election--giving hiim a 98 percent chance of winning. Silver suggests Newt Gingrich will take in 29.5 percent. Romney held a sizable lead among early voters in Florida’s high-stakes, winner-take-all primary on Tuesday. The polls opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday, but at least 632,000 voters cast their ballots early. Gingrich was trailing by at least 60,000 votes before the polls even opened, according to analysis by early voting surveys. Gingrich remained defiant Tuesday morning, appearing on Fox and Friends saying that Romney is throwing “wild punches” in a “desperate bid” to win the presidency. He even insisted later that the race is “a long way from being over."