Florida is key in Romney campaign

TAMPA, Fla. --Regardless of whether Florida moves up its primary, the state will remain critical in the presidential election, presidential hopeful Mitt Romney told reporters after delivering a speech to Republican activists on Saturday.

The former Massachusetts governor has already shown an interest in courting Florida voters, but he downplayed the importance of a measure currently being considered by Florida lawmakers to move up the primary so the state can have more say in the eventual nominees.

"I think by the time the primaries and caucuses occur -- December, January or whenever -- the people who are contenders are going to already be very well known household names," Romney said. "And I plan to be one of those contenders."

Romney was referencing a bill moving through the state Legislature that would set Florida's primary at seven days after New Hampshire's or Feb. 5, whichever comes first. New Hampshire's primary is currently the first in the nation to be held.

An earlier Florida primary, however, gives Romney less time to gain name recognition in the state, said Darryl Paulson, a political science professor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Paulson said Romney knows the state is important, and the professor went so far as to call Florida "the cornerstone to his campaign." If Romney can pull ahead in Florida, other southern, more fundamental states may follow, Paulson said.

While Romney himself has not made such a strong statement he has shown Florida is on his mind. Last month, when Romney kicked off his three-day announcement tour in Michigan, formerly entering the presidential race, Florida was scheduled as his final stop. He returned to the state Friday to speak with Republicans in Miami before traveling to Tampa for his second stop. Meanwhile, a number of advisers to former Gov. Jeb Bush have joined his campaign.

Still, Romney will have to work hard to reach Florida voters. In the latest Quinnipiac poll of Florida Republicans, Romney was preferred as a presidential candidate by only 6 percent of respondents, trailing former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani with 38 percent, Arizona Sen. John McCain with 18 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 14 percent.

Nancy Goetz, a member of the Tampa Republican Club, was one of more than 500 people attending Saturday's dinner. She was a little girl living in Michigan when Mitt Romney's father, George Romney, served the state as a three-term governor. She liked what Romney had to say.

"Mitt Romney is my pick right now," she said "I like that he stands for strong family values."