Mitt Romney Showcases Florida Republican Supporters

Trying to catch Newt Gingrich in Florida, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is trotting out some of his leading supporters in the Sunshine State in the last week before the primary.

The Romney camp brought out Connie Mack, the congressman seeking the Republican nomination to take on Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November, to praise their candidate for releasing his tax returns on Tuesday.

Im happy that we can finally get back to the issues that matter, Mack said in a statement on Tuesday. For too long, Democrats and even some in our party, have used this to hide from their own record. Now that this is out of the way, we can now get back to focusing on President Obama and his failure to create jobs.

After the debate on Monday night in Tampa, Romney sent out two prominent Republicans to offer their assessments.

Mitt Romney again demonstrated that he is ready to be president on day one. Florida has faced more economic hardship than most states, and it is imperative that we have a new president in order for our states economy to get back on the right track, said Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. Mitt Romney brings both the experience of the private sector and a lifelong record of leadership that will be needed in Washington to bring both sides together to create jobs, cut spending, and maintain our position as the most powerful nation in the world.

Incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, also made the rounds for Romney after the debate.

Mitt Romney won tonight by proving again that we need a Washington outsider, not another D.C. insider, as our nominee, Weatherford said. Only someone from outside Washington can fix the many problems that were caused by Washington politicians. Mitt Romney will be able to turn around our economy, create jobs, and restore fiscal health because he was able to do it as a businessman and as a governor. Floridians have felt firsthand the negative effects of President Obamas policies -- only Mitt Romney has the contrasting record to defeat President Obama and bring positive change to our state.