Precisely at 8 p.m. ET, when the final polls closed in the Florida panhandle, the news networks projected Mitt Romney as the winner of the Florida primary.
The race was called for Romney by CNN, NBC News, Fox News, the Associated Press, and others.
With 56% of precincts reporting, Romney has 48%, Gingrich 31%, Santorum 13%, and Paul 7%.
Romney led by a similar margin throughout the count, after most of the state’s precincts closed at 7 p.m. ET. The networks would not immediately project a winner, however due to Florida’s non-uniform poll closings between the Eastern and Central time zones.
