Florida primary exit polls: 2/3rds say debates mattered

Two in three Florida primary voters say the presidential debates were an important factor in their vote, according to early CBS News exit polls. That's a positive sign for Mitt Romney, who was widely seen as besting rival Newt Gingrich in the two Sunshine State debates over the past week.

For evidence of the importance of the debates, look no further than South Carolina, where nearly the same percentage of voters said the debates were important in early exit polls. Gingrich was widely seen as the victor in the two debates there, and he went on to a double-digit victory.

The exit poll results being discussed here are early results; full exit poll results will be released at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. (The polls in Florida close at 7:00 p.m. across the state, but the state is part of two time zones. Because the northwestern part of the state is in the Central Time zone, polls there don't close until 8:00 Eastern Time.)

Electability was what Florida Republican voters were seeking in a candidate: 45 percent said the most important candidate quality is that they could defeat President Obama. That was followed by having the right experience (20 percent), having strong character (17 percent) and being a true conservative (13 percent).

AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

Asked who has run the most unfair campaign, 37 percent of Florida voters pointed to Romney, whose super PAC has blanketed the state with negative ads about Gingrich. Thirty-four percent pointed to Gingrich. Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, who did not seriously contest the winner-take-all primary, were selected by just four percent each.

Thirty-nine percent of Florida voters said campaign ads were an important factor in their decision; 58 percent said they were not. Romney and his super PAC far outspent his rivals in advertising in the Sunshine State, which is one of the most expensive states in the country to run ads in because of its many media markets.

Florida is an early voting state, and just 27 percent of voters said they decided on their candidate in the last few days. Twenty-nine percent said they decided earlier this month, while 42 percent said they decided before that. Romney did relatively well in debates prior to Gingrich's strong performance in the South Carolina face-offs.

Half of early voters in Florida backed Romney, survey shows

The economy was overwhelmingly the most important issue to Florida Republican voters, cited by 62 percent; a distant second was the federal budget deficit at 24 percent. Half said that foreclosure problems were a major problem in their community, and just 15 percent said they were not a problem.

A majority of Florida Republican voters - 57 percent -- were happy with the candidates on the ballot. But in a potentially troubling sign for Republicans in this swing state, 39 percent said they were not satisfied.

Live Election Results for Florida (Returns will begin to show up at 7:00 pm. Eastern)

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[electionate]

Most interesting thing to watch for is the <a href="http://electionate.com/?p=431">margin of victory</a> in the panhandle - will be a rough guide to how the Southern demographics are going to play out for Romney.

[noloyalisti]

I also want to know what the Republicons plan is to help the poor Top 1% get more tax cuts. Also we need a national sensitivity training program so we can better understand the needs of the filthy rich. Poor, poor, misunderstood billionaires.

[ProgressNow]

We have a moral obligation to help them because they would never know how to survive in the real world of the 99%ers.

[ProgressNow]

Ok, fine... Romeny wins FL (shock), but that doesn't answer the question of when this country is going to get serious about making the Moon the 51st state!!!!!!! I want answers!!!!!!! GOP, address the real issues of this campaign!!!!!!!

[venusvegasvada]

Good. Gingrich = "L"

[fedup12]

Sooooo.

I guess the Floridians think Romney is the Masterdebater.

[fedup12]

by hdvideo1 January 31, 2012 5:42 PM EST
The news media is hard at work to bring Newt down. What a sad country this is when Obumer has done zero and the media treats him like he is God.
=============================================

Evidently you have missed all the Birther, hes a muslim, socialist stories the media has run.

I think Newt would probably cry if he had to go through what Obama has. But keep ur tin foil hat on. And go listen to Fox news that has a real hate fest going on with President Obama.

[fedup12]

by hdvideo1 January 31, 2012 5:42 PM EST
The news media is hard at work to bring Newt down. What a sad country this is when Obumer has done zero and the media treats him like he is God.
=============================================

Evidently you have missed all the Birther, hes a muslim, socialist stories the media has run.

I think Newt would probably cry if he had to go through what Obama has. But keep ur tin foil hat on. And go listen to Fox news that has a real hate fest going on with President Obama.
Bohner would cry for sure.

[watcher509]

So desperate. Nobody voted for Romney during the last election, but all of a sudden they're all for him and he's qualified? I'm no expert, but didn't this man already try this 2-3 times and majority hated and wanted nothing to do with him? I don't get it. How is it that 4 years later he's the right man? I guess common sense isn't so common.

[RealiteBites]

I really can't imagine the debates are having the impact people are saying they're having.

People just want to be able to give a reason for their preference - and if they don't say debates matter, then they're hard-pressed to explain their choice. If not for the debates, what other reason would there be to vote for somebody?

There's only 4 people in the race, and Ron Paul's a bit of a froot-loop, and Rick Santorum is like a pure values voter candidate. So that only leaves two other people, and Gingrich is kind of creepy and just won the last one.

I'm telling you - there's not much larger reason to be voting FOR any of these cats. None of them are that great, and neither is Obama.

I think the larger story to be told about Florida is the fact that Romney may have won - but Gingrich is leading in the national polls ... mixed message = dissatisfaction. That's the biggest story I think that needs to be told ...

[OnTheCrown]

Romney will win and then Obama will beat him in November. It won't be a landslide. It will be close. Obama will end a second term with the economy booming. It won't be because of what he did but he will get the credit.