Santorum & Gingrich Headed To South Florida
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (CBSMiami) – As South Carolina prepares to vote in its GOP primary; the prospective candidates are already eyeing the bigger prize of Florida.
GOP-hopeful Rick Santorum's campaign confirmed to CBS4 Wednesday that he will be making an appearance at the Wings Plus restaurant in Coral Springs on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Wings Plus has become a staple political stop in Broward County.
It all started at Wings Plus in 2004 when Brian Walsh of Wings Plus asked an influential Republican where President George W. Bush was going for lunch.
"Strictly kidding around and before you knew, the president, his wife, and his brother the governor," Walsh said of the President's stop. "And they didn't park in the back, they parked in the front and shut the street down!'
Mitt Romney made a stop there in 2008 and Herman Cain stopped in before his campaign went up in flames.
"I know down in Miami they go to Versailles," Walsh said, "When they get to Broward, it's Wings Plus."
Not to be outdone, fellow conservative Newt Gingrich will address what's being called a "grassroots rally" next Wednesday at Wings Plus.
But when it comes to picking a winner, Walsh isn't quite ready to make a prediction.
Whoever does eventually become the nominee, at some point they are likely to make a stop at Wings Plus to eat up the support.
In addition to the Wings Plus announcement, Santorum's campaign announced he would open a campaign office in Little Havana to help coordinate his efforts to convince South Florida voters to support him.
Both Gingrich and Santorum have effectively split the conservative vote in the Republican Party, which has made it easier for Mitt Romney to gain momentum towards a possible sweep of early states in the 2012 GOP primary season.
