With 79 percent of Florida’s precincts reporting, Romney had 47 percent of the vote to Gingrich’s 32 percent, with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul — neither of whom ran a serious campaign in the state — polling 13 percent and 7 percent respectively.

Gingrich however vowed to continue his fight for the nomination all the way to the Republican National Convention, scheduled for Tampa Bay at the end of August.

If he is able to come back, it would be the third time in less than a year. Virtually all political pundits say there’s no way he can do it.

“The calendar works against Gingrich rebounding anytime soon,” reports the Associated Press in its pre-election coverage earlier today. “After a steady march through four state contests in January, the pace quickens before taking a long breather next month.

“There are seven elections in February,” the AP notes, “which kicks off with Nevada’s caucuses Saturday. That will be followed by contests next week in Colorado, Minnesota and Maine as well as a non-binding primary in Missouri. A 17-day break will be capped by primaries in Arizona and Michigan on Feb. 28.

“The schedule benefits a candidate, like Romney, with deep pockets and a sophisticated ground game and able to compete on multiple fronts at once. Gingrich, who failed to even get on the ballot in his home state of Virginia for the March 6 Super Tuesday primary, is playing catch-up.”
 
— VoB Staff report
 
READ AP’S ACCOUNTS OF THE FLORIDA ELECTION  (click here) ^[2]  and  (here) ^[3]
AND CHECK OUT NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR)’S COVERAGE, as posted on KPBS Mobile’s website  (click here.) ^[4]     (KPBS is a public service of San Diego State University.)     ALSO SEE AP’S ANALYSIS OF THE FLORIDA ELECTION (click here) ^[5]  AND  HERE ^[6]   TO SEE WHERE GINGRICH GOES FROM HERE.