WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, bolstered by Thursday evening's strong debate performance, turned his attention to President Barack Obama in a speech on Floida's Space Coast Friday. With polls showing Romney has surged to the front of the pack in the Florida primary, he began looking ahead to November's potential showdown with Obama. 'I was listening pretty carefully to his speech because I'm expecting to debate him someday,' Romney beamed. Just four days before the nation's first big-state presidential primary, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney opens up a 38 - 29 percent lead over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich among Republican likely voters in Florida, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Only 6 percent are undecided, but 32 percent say they might change their mind by Tuesday. A small but enthusiatic crowd waited almost two hours for Romney, with some chanting 'We Want Mitt' before he emerged to speak at Astrotech Corporation, a commercial aerospace supplier in Cape Canaveral. The former Massachusetts governor finds himself in the fight of his political life after a stunning defeat in the South Carolina by Newt Gingrich, who was a dark horse hopeful just a month ago. Romney has been on the attack against his primary opponets this week, hoping to show Republican voters that he has the tenacity to challenge Obama in November's general election. But he spoke little of Gingrich today, other than to claim victory in the CNN Debate that took place in Jacksonville last night. 'I've had the fun of having two debates where I had to stand up and battle. And battling was fun and battling was won,' he said. In a veiled reference to the Gingrich promise to build a moon base if elected president, Romney said it would be impossible to make such a bold pledge without studying the issue. 'In the politics of the past, to get your vote in.the Space Coast, I'd come here and promise hundreds of billions of dollars,' Romney said. 'I know that's something that's very attractive, very popular, but it's simply the wrong thing to do.' The Tea Party, once thought to play kingmaker in closely contested GOP primary races, has been nowhere to be found at Romney events in the Sunshine State this week. Still, Romney has jumped back in front of Gingrich in polling data released today.
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