The Florida primary, by the numbers

It’s been 10 days since the South Carolina primary, and 28 since the first nominating contest of the presidential cycle, the Iowa caucuses. Now, Florida is poised to hand a potentially decisive victory to Mitt Romney, giving him a surge of delegates and fresh momentum before Saturday’s Nevada caucuses.

As voting is set to close, here are some figures that tell the story of the Florida primary campaign.

7

As in 7 p.m., when the polls close. Because the Florida Panhandle is in the Central time zone, a result will not be called by the Associated Press or television networks until 8 p.m. Eastern, even though results will be coming in from the rest of the state.

603,459

The number of votes that had already been cast through early and absentee balloting as of Monday, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

9

The number of Republican candidates on the primary ballot. That list includes Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Perry, who have abandoned their presidential bids, as well as Gary Johnson, who is now running as a Libertarian.

50

The number of delegates at stake in today’s winner-take-all primary. Florida initially was slated to have a 99-member delegation to the Republican convention, but was penalized because it scheduled its nominating vote before the March 6 date party rules allowed.

466

The number of delegates that will be at stake on Super Tuesday, March 6, when primaries and caucuses are held in 11 states.

92

The percent of campaign television ads airing in Florida in the campaign’s final week that were seen as negative.

$1,157,731

Total ad spending by the Newt Gingrich campaign in Florida.

$2,232,074

Total ad spending by Winning Our Future, the pro-Gingrich “super PAC.”

$6,933,904

Total ad spending by Mitt Romney.

$8,455,383

Total ad spending by Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney super PAC.

604,932

The number of votes Romney received in his second-place finish in the 2008 Florida primary. He received 31% of the vote, to John McCain’s 36% but well ahead of the nearly 15% that Rudy Giuliani earned despite his all-or-nothing effort in the state.

55,000

An initial estimate of how many Republicans are expected to attend presidential caucuses Saturday in Nevada, the next state to hold a nominating event.

212

The number of days until the Republican nominee will deliver his acceptance speech at the party’s national convention -- to be held in Tampa.