Mitt Romney won a sizable victory in Tuesday’s Florida primary, capturing 46.4 percent of the vote to Newt Gingrich’s 31.9 percent. In all, Romney got 240,548 more votes than the ex-House Speaker.

“The size and breadth of Romney’s win provide the first real evidence that he has the potential to coalesce a party that has been deeply split …” wrote Karen Tumulty in an analysis for The Washington Post.

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What’s up with politicians claiming ignorance of the law? Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has run afoul of Survivor (the ‘80s band, not the TV show) for using its song, “Eye of the Tiger,” without the band’s permission while campaigning.

Of course, numerous other candidates in recent years have faced similar dilemmas including Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Perhaps they all have a sense of entitlement.

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Newt Gingrich made the rounds of some Sunday morning TV political talk shows and made it clear he wouldn’t drop out of the contest for the Republican presidential nomination even if he lost Tuesday’s primary in Florida.

Gingrich says he will remain in the race until the GOP’s convention, which begins Aug. 27 in Tampa, Fla. Meanwhile, he urged Rick Santorum to drop out, so conservatives can consolidate around one candidate to beat moderate Mitt Romney.

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Let’s start the morning roundup with a truly radical idea: How about using Paul Brown Stadium as a homeless shelter during the roughly 340 nights a year when the Bengals aren’t using it?

That’s just what might happen with the new Marlins ballpark or the Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field in Florida if two state lawmakers have their way. They want to enforce an obscure 1988 Florida law that allows any ballpark or stadium that receives taxpayer money to serve as a homeless shelter on the dates that it is not in use. Sounds like a great idea to us.

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It’s yet another gloomy, rainy morning in Cincinnati, so let’s let our minds take a voyage around the Internet and see what is going on in the world during the last 24 hours.

House Speaker John Boehner is probably cringing at a CBS News poll that found an overwhelming majority of Americans like the proposals mentioned in President Obama’s State of the Union address. And by “overwhelming,” we mean a whopping 91 percent of respondents. (You read that correctly.)

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Some important dates involving Ohio’s March 6 primary election are fast approaching.

Early voting — both at the Board of Elections and via mail-in ballot — begins Jan. 31. Applications for mail-in ballots are available on the board’s website or by calling the board’s offices at 513-632-7039, 513-632 7040 or 513-632-7044.

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Sensing he needs to make up for lost ground, Mitt Romney went on the offensive in Monday night’s Republican presidential debate in Tampa, Fla., hammering Newt Gingrich as an “influence peddler.” Occasionally appearing at a loss for words, the bombastic ex-Speaker of the House accused Romney of engaging in “trivial politics.”

Boys, boys: Settle down or I’m pulling the car over.

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Hey, did you hear that Newt Gingrich pulled off an upset victory in South Carolina over the weekend? Of course you did; you’re CityBeat readers, so you’re all well read. But any rational observer must wonder if Republicans truly think Newt can win in a general election, where there are actual moderates and progressives voting.

There’s already a fake front page of The Washington Post circulating around the Internet with President Obama smiling broadly at news of Gingrich’s victory.

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At least three members of Congress are set to attend the 13th annual Northeast Hamilton County Republican Pancake Breakfast next week.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Terrace Park), a budget director under President George W. Bush, is the keynote speaker at the event. Also scheduled to attend are U.S. Reps. Steve Chabot (R-Westwood) and Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Township), along with nearly 400 local Republicans from all levels of government.

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This week’s ruling by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission that a Greater Cincinnati landlady violated a girl’s civil rights by posting a “whites only” sign at an apartment complex’s swimming pool is a decision that most rational people would say is just.

The Jan. 12 ruling means the commission, if it cannot reach a settlement with landlady Jamie Hein, could issue a complaint against her with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. The AG’s Office would then represent the complainant, Michael Gunn, before an administrative law judge, who could impose penalties and punitive damages.

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