Romney trounces Gingrich in Florida

Florida's Republican voters are just that into Mitt Romney.

HLN projects that the former Massachusetts governor won big in Tuesday's Republican primary.

With 74% of the vote in, Romney bested former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 47% to 32%. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum comes in third, with Texas Rep. Ron Paul in fourth.

"A competitive primary does not divide us, it prepares us," Romney said in his victory speech. "And we will win."

View Florida's results

Romney now walks away with Florida's 50 delegates -- a large haul this election season -- and front-runner status as the race heads out West.

Interactive: Delegate counter

"I think the winner of Florida is in all likelihood going to be the nominee of our party," Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told CNN Tuesday. "Florida is a mini America."

According to exit polls:

• 2 out of 3 said they were strongly or somewhat supportive of the tea party movement.
• Less than half described themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians.
• Men voted in slightly higher percentage than women (52%-48%).
• Nearly 15% of those voting were Hispanic.
• 2 out of 3 said the debates were important.
• 39% said campaign ads were important.