Crowley Political Report

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will attend a rally in West Palm Beach today at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

It is an interesting location because in many ways the Convention Center is a failed government project. Little used, heavily dependent on tax dollars and seeking salvation by offering millions to anyone who will build a convention hotel nearby, the center has become a symbol of government befuddlement.

Romney's rally is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m.  After mingling with the folks, Romney will drive over the bridge to Palm Beach for a fundraiser at the home of Steve Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins.

Romney's Florida effort has been formidable.  His campaign is making a determined effort to win this state and he has the money and resources to do it.

The biggest question for Romney may be who turns out for the Jan. 31, Florida primary. Will the vote be dominated by Tea Party supporters? Will Ron Paul Republicans show up? Will moderate Republicans, those most comfortable with Romney, vote? 

If 2012 is a replay of 2010, it could make things a bit more difficult for Romney. Florida's Tea Party voters were unforgiving in 2010, and if a candidate fails to meet the stringent - some might say strident - hard-core conservative demands of these voters, they go elsewhere.

Everything appears to be working in Romney's favor. His campaign has all the money and heavy machinery and his rivals are pinching pennies.

Restore Our Future, the Romney supporting Super-PAC, is spending $3.4 million on advertising in Florida. Romney's campaign will spend millions more - there is already a Spanish-language ad airing on Hispanic television.

And voting here is already underway. More than 85,000 Republicans have already voted by mail. 

If Romney wins big in South Carolina, Florida's primary may turn into a coronation.

Newt Gingrich is his chief rival in South Carolina, but even he appears to be admitting that he may not have much of a future if the Palmetto State does not at least give him a very close second place finish.

Follow us on Twitter @crowleyreport

 Art by Patrick Crowley