Romney Counting on Florida to Win GOP Nomination

Just like Rudy Giuliani in 2008...

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney just finished up a pair of North Florida fundraisers and is on his way to Sarasota for a third.

In Tallahassee, we're told he veered into some talk about the political chessboard during his private event at the Governor's Club.

Romney said after airing ads in Iowa for nearly an entire year during the 2008 campaign, he has not run any spots to date. Romney told the crowd his campaign calculus was that he could spend nothing and come in fourth or spend a bit and finish second or third. He guessed that Republicans could split the first three events, which would make Florida particularly important.

Romney predicted a Tea Party favorite would win Iowa and that he would take New Hampshire, according to interviews with six people in the audience. Romney told the crowd he would seal the nomination by then winning Florida's Republican contest.

"Clearly they are competitive in Iowa, but you never know how it's going to come out there," said Rep. Will Weatherford who hosted simultaneous fundraisers in the same building today for Romney and Perry.

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