WASHINGTON (AP) — After losing Saturday’s Nevada caucus race, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich sought solace in what he called an encouraging statistic: that his supporters were turning out to vote more enthusiastically than those of his chief rival, Mitt Romney.
Gingrich told reporters that every county he carried in Florida experienced higher turnout while every county Romney won had lower turnout. Gingrich said that should “sober every Republican in the country.”
His numbers were off, however.
While Gingrich carried 34 counties in Florida’s Jan. 31 primary, 13 of those recorded turnout lower than in 2008.
And while 32 of the 33 counties Romney carried in winning the state did see declines, it wasn’t as absolute as Gingrich put it. One — Sumter County — showed a nearly 20 percent increase in turnout.
Source: Associated Press
