US Republicans escalate attacks on each other, with sights on Florida

Jan 23, 2012, 23:32 GMT

Washington - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Monday began a series of attacks on rival Newt Gingrich, painting him as unreliable and unelectable as the party's nominating contest shifted to Florida.

The large state, which votes January 31, is a true electoral prize for the candidates seeking to face President Barack Obama in November presidential elections and presents a more diverse electorate than in previous contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

With a different candidate winning each of the previous three states, Florida has become even more key. Romney's campaign hopes to regain his position as the party frontrunner after an unexpected trouncing by Gingrich in South Carolina's primary Saturday, while Gingrich sees a chance to solidify himself as a conservative alternative to the more moderate Romney.

Gingrich's 40-per-cent victory in South Carolina essentially torpedoed Romney's effort to wrap up the nomination with a series of quick victories in the four January contests.

In a television ad that began airing Monday, Romney questions Gingrich's years working for government mortgage backer Freddie Mac in the midst of the housing crisis.

'While Florida families lost everything in the housing crisis, Newt Gingrich cashed in,' the ad proclaims. It challenges the former speaker of the House of Representatives' depiction of his work for the agency and points to his resignation as speaker, unprecedented in history, over ethic violations in the 1990s.

'If Newt wins, this guy would be very happy,' the ad concludes with a smiling photo of Barack Obama.

In comments at campaign events Monday, Romney described Gingrich as 'erratic' and warned a Gingrich campaign would be at risk for damaging allegations being released just before the November general election.

The remarks and advertising blitz are a shift from Romney's previous focus on Obama rather than his party rivals.

Gingrich meanwhile has insisted he did no lobbying to solicit influence from lawmakers for the mortgage company, but told ABC News in an interview he would seek to make the records of his work public after discussions with his then employer.

'It's not true. He knows it's not true,' Gingrich said of Romney's characterization. 'He is deliberately saying things he knows are false. I just think that's what the next week will be like.'