GOP Fever Hits the Local Scene as Presidential Primary Draws Near

All eyes are on Florida this week as the days leading up to the Presidential Preference Primary unwind with candidate visits and special events.

Meanwhile, the polls reopen in Hillsborough County today, with details noted in this , a Brandon Patch slide report.

We start this report on a state of affairs in Florida, followed by events closer to home, punctuated by tonight's GOP Presidential Debate at the University of South Florida.

WHY FLORIDA MATTERS — AND IS PENALIZED

A Jan. 31 primary win seems to be the "final straw" win that candidate Mitt Romney needs to secure his place on the ticket, promsing "a dogfight in the Sunshine State," according to The Buzz, a Tampa Bay Times report, posted Jan. 23.

The "dogfight" comes at an expense, with Florida's delegates to the Repubilcan National Convention "getting snubbed in their own house," according to a Fox News report posted Jan. 11.

"The state is expected to lose half its 99 delegates as a result of its decision to hold the Republican presidential primary on Jan. 31," which state party leaders were not supposed to do before April, according to the Fox report. As a result, the Republican National Committee has voted unanimously to limit the number of guest passes Florida delegates can hand out as well as to give them less favorable seating and hotel options.

The Republican National Convention is scheduled for the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Aug. 27-30.

ELECTION HAPPENINGS CLOSE TO HOME

Newt Gingrich will start his day tomorrow, Jan. 24, with a , whose chief manager is Sam Rashid of Valrico, who chairs Gingrich's campaign in Hillsborough County.

But first, Gingrich is scheduled to appear today at a grassroots rally that kicks off 2 p.m. at the The River at Tampa Bay Church, 3738 River International Drive.

The Jan. 23 rally is hours before the GOP Presidential Debate, at the University of South Florida campus, which is scheduled to be aired on NBC live at 9 p.m. Scheduled to appear are candidates Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum.

Event hosts are NBC News, National Journal, the Florida Council of 100 and the Tampa Bay Times, which posted today "a candidate-by-candidate guide to what Floridians might hear, with a special emphasis on the repeated statements that don't match up with the facts."

The debate is expected to draw a crowd of some 500 attendees and wil be held ithe university's Marshall Student Center. Up to an additional 1,000 people will be accommodated in a watch-tent manned by the university's student government.

ABC Action News reports that Dustin Ponder, a protest organizer, expects hundreds of portestors from throughout the state to participate in a demonstration against “ 'a tax on the 99 percent' they feel is imposed by republicans."

Primary parties have been scheduled, including Jan. 24, 5-7 p.m., at Park Square Cellar in Lithia, hosted by the Hillsborough County Republican Party. The candidates and their campaign representatives have been invited.

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