The Republican presidential race is heating up. Just four candidates remain in the race entering the fourth state to have a primary, Florida. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul are all competing against one another to win. Recently, Newt Gingrich grabbed a win in South Carolina by a large margin, but one does not know how much that primary will affect the one in Florida. All candidates are desperate for the win, which might separate the individual from the rest of the group. Currently, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich have all won one state. Ron Paul remains hungry for his first win. The race seems up for grabs, and debates and speeches will likely be a huge influence on the final vote.

Florida’s primary will impact the race in a huge manner as this is the first large state to have a primary vote. Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina are all states that few people reside in. Florida is the 4th most populated state in America and will prove to be a pivotal region in the 2012 Republican nominee vote. The state has been considered as a “wild card” by many experts as people have pulled off unlikely upsets over the past couple of elections. People continue to wonder whether or not the cycle will continue or break, and they will find out on January 31, 2012.

Debates surrounding the Sunshine State have been nothing but ferocious. Mitt Romney has continuously attacked Newt Gingrich in a very competitive attitude and seems to have achieved total domination over Gingrich in debates. Gingrich appeared speechless by Romney’s onslaught of words and even when the former Speaker of House spoke, the words seemed futile. Mr. Romney continuously criticized Gingrich’s activities with Freddie Mac, the troubled mortgage giant that causes citizens problems. Freddie Mac is largely criticized by Republican conservatives, and Gingrich’s participation in the company might have dashed his nomination hopes.

Rick Santorum and Ron Paul did not appear very much in news headlines as the Romney vs Gingrich debate raged on. Ron Paul seemed dedicated to win other states rather than Florida and he said,”I don’t think we can afford to put so much money into Florida and give up other states.” Santorum was home nursing his baby daughter, who suffered from life-threatening diseases, and was a small influence in the large debate. However, he gave a couple of speeches that criticized his opponents in a very harsh manner. He openly ridiculed Gingrich’s idea of colonizing the moon and criticized Romney’s foreign bank accounts and tax issues.

The Florida polls have shown Mitt Romney in the lead by double digits. His aggressive debates have probably helped him win over many supporters. However, Florida is known to be a state where many upsets occur and Romney is certainly aware of that fact. So are the other candidates and they will hope that the tradition will continue and Florida will go to one of themselves. May the best man win.