FL Primary: Romney Credits Change In Tactics For Florida Surge [VIDEO]

Mitt Romney says he’s fought back from his South Carolina setback into the forefront of the Republican presidential field by more aggressively returning Newt Gingrich’s campaign fire and by presenting himself as a Washington outsider.

Romney tells NBC’s “Today” show that in the days leading up to the South Carolina, he was “getting just whaled” by the former House speaker and says he didn’t fight back very well. Now, Romney says, he’s “pushed back,” and says he believes the voters have responded to his charges that Gingrich has benefited from his business relationship with the mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

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Romney said Monday morning that he believes he’s reinvigorated his campaign by a combination of a change in message and a change in tactics.

Gingrich says `amazing’ amount of ads boosts Romney

Newt Gingrich says Mitt Romney has put himself in a better position for tomorrow’s Florida primary by purchasing what Gingrich calls “an amazing amount of ads.”

But he says it won’t work. Gingrich says Romney is “going to find this a long campaign.”

The former House speaker, who appeared this morning on CBS and ABC, said that on the big, philosophical issues, Romney “is for all practical purposes a liberal.”

And while Romney has the lead in the polls on the day before the Florida primary, Gingrich says he thinks “the next 24 hours is going to make a big difference.”

Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush remains neutral in race

Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush, whose endorsement would be a prize for any of the Republican presidential candidates, has remained neutral.

This follows a pattern in early GOP contests: Gov. Terry Branstad in Iowa didn’t choose sides. Nor did influential Sen. Jim DeMint in South Carolina. New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie threw his support to Romney, but there hasn’t been a delegate-selection contest yet in New Jersey.

The New York Times reported in Monday’s editions that Romney has sought to win over Jeb Bush, a brother of former President George W. Bush.

Asked about that in a Fox News Channel interview on Monday morning, Romney replied: “Jeb Bush and I haven’t spoken. He’s a good man. I’d love to get his opinion on any number of issues.”

Santorum: Daughter with pneumonia recovering

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says his daughter Bella remains in the hospital with pneumonia but is recovering after a rough 36 hours.

Santorum spoke with Florida supporters by telephone from Bella’s hospital room and said he hopes she can go home in the next few days. Florida has its primary Tuesday, and Santorum canceled campaign stops there Sunday to stay with his 3-year-old daughter.

Bella has a genetic condition known as Trisomy 18. The condition typically proves fatal and Santorum often says his daughter wasn’t expected to live past 12 months.

The former Pennsylvania senator says Bella is awake and alert and back to being a “beautiful, happy girl.”

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)