Romney: "Almost...But Not Quite"
SAINT PETERSBURG, FLA. -- Mitt Romney put on a brave face after what must have been a demoralizing loss in tonight's Florida primary.
"Almost, but not quite," he told the crowd that had gathered at his St. Petersburg campaign party tonight.
As a few Romney supporters wiped back tears, Romney gave a truncated version of his stump speech before ending with a joke.
"All you guys are family," Romney said. "Don't expect to be part of the inheritance—I'm not sure there's gonna be much left after this."
The Romney campaign says a big factor in tonight's loss was Rudy Giuliani's erosion of support in southeast Florida, where a heavily Hispanic population voted overwhelmingly for McCain.
With Feb. 5 just a week away, Romney is hoping to find a way to slow down McCain's strong momentum by trying to rally conservatives around him as the only viable "Reagan Republican" left in the race.