Mitt Romney on Tuesday won Florida's 50
delegates, the largest number yet up for grabs in the GOP nominating
contest.
The 64-year-old Romney made an oblique
reference to his opposition to gay marriage during remarks to
supporters.
“President Obama ordered religious
organizations to violate their conscience; I will defend religious
liberty and overturn regulations that trample on our first freedom,”
he said as the crowd chanted “Mitt, Mitt, Mitt.”
(Related: Mitt
Romney claims Obama is paving path to gay marriage.)
During his brief 10-minute speech,
Romney directed most of his attacks on President Barack Obama.
“In his State of the Union address,
the president actually said these words: Let's remember now how we
got here. Mr. President, we know exactly how we got here. You won
the election!” he said to loud cheers.
Romney promised to “slow the growth
of government,” balance the budget without raising taxes, turn
“hope” into a paycheck instead of “a faded word on an old
bumper sticker,” and “insist on a military so powerful that no
one in the world would dare challenge them.”
“Now let me be clear. The path I lay
out is not one paved with ever increasing government checks and
cradle-to-grave assurance that government will always be the
solution. If this election is a bidding war for who can promise the
most goodies and the most benefits, then I'm not your president. You
have that president today.”
Newt Gingrich placed second in Florida,
trailed by Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. None of the candidates have
signaled they're prepared to drop out.