Romney wins Citrus, Florida

The margin was tighter than statewide but Mitt Romney still swayed Citrus County Republican voters over Newt Gingrich in Tuesday’s presidential preference primary.

Romney took 41.5 percent of the Citrus vote to Gingrich’s 35.5 percent. Rick Santorum was third with 13.6 percent and Ron Paul fourth with 7.7 percent.

The five remaining Republicans on the ballot, who had all dropped from the race prior to the Florida primary, split the remaining vote.

More than 21,000 Citrus Republicans voted, or 51.7 percent. About half of those voters cast ballots in early voting or by absentee.

Romney also won Florida with about 47 percent of the vote to Gingrich's 32 percent.

For more, see Wednesday's Chronicle.