Paul's Fla. support anchored in Bay area

If Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul ever needs a change of scenery, he might consider running for office in the greater Tampa area.

The Texas congressman has drawn the largest chunk of his support in Florida from individual donors in Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater, according to filings with the Federal Elections Commission.

By contrast, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have drawn the bulk of their support from the deep pockets of South Florida. Romney, who touts his experience in the corporate world, has drawn his biggest donations from the Jacksonville area, home to corporations from Winn-Dixie to CSX.

Rick Santorum has his feet firmly in Southwest Florida and, as the race's most outspoken Catholic, is the only candidate to get support from residents of Ave Maria, the expressly Catholic community being developed in Collier County by Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan.

The analysis is based on filings from spring and summer 2011. Filings from the end of last year aren't due to the FEC until Tuesday, the day of the Florida presidential preference primary.

Local support for Paul tracks with the region's libertarian tendencies, said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida.

Paul benefits from this region's large student population, and he also draws support from people who want less military intervention abroad. Paul has said he'd like to bring all American troops home from foreign countries.

His calls for greater protections for individual privacy also reflect local passions, MacManus said.

Paul participated in this week's debates in Tampa and Jacksonville, but otherwise isn't campaigning in the state, which awards its delegates in a winner-take-all manner. Paul garnered 3.2 percent of the Florida primary vote in 2008, so his campaign is focusing on states where he's likely to get more delegates.

His Florida supporters, however, are undeterred. They're lining street corners across Tampa and its suburbs to wave placards at passing drivers.

Tampa resident and Iraq veteran Spencer Rogers recruited a group to do just that last week at the corner of State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Wesley Chapel.

Rogers leads Paul's campaign efforts in Hillsborough County. USF students and veterans are part of the group, but so are 30- to 40-year-old small business owners — "people who have money to give," Rogers said.

He also points out that this region is home to the Palm Harbor-based Libertarian Party of Florida and to Bradenton-based Ron Paul Products, which sells the placards supporters wave, the T-shirts they wear and the bumper stickers on their cars.

"His message does well over time," Rogers said of Paul.

Although he gets loads of moral support from Floridians, that doesn't always translate into financial support.

Paul reported $433,554 from Florida during the six months reported to the FEC — more than Santorum, but dramatically less than Gingrich or Romney.

Paul got $92,000 from communities in Hillsborough, Pinellas or Pasco counties.

Financial statements also show Romney raised nearly $2.5 million in Florida during the six months on file with the FEC. Florida made up about 8 percent of Romney's $29.5 million national take during that period.

Romney also had more donors give the maximum allowed for individuals in the primary. His opponents, including President Obama, have seen more small donations, with the most popular amount being $100.

Several Paul supporters have given money in amounts of $20.12 or $201.20, a numerical expression of their hope this could be his year to win.

Regardless of where they raised the most money, every candidate dipped a bucket in the traditional fount of Republican fundraising, Naples, which is also the home of Gov. Rick Scott.

Political scientist Aubrey Jewett, a professor at the University of Central Florida, said the geographic aspect of candidates' support may reflect how well they resonate with the local population.

"Perhaps the East Coast Republicans are more split between moderates and conservatives, and that is showing itself in split donations to Gingrich and Romney," Jewett said. "The split in Naples could reflect the fact that the donor base of the party is just as evenly split as the greater electorate on the nominee question."

Few places display that split more readily than The Villages, the sprawling retirement community south of Ocala.

FEC filings show Romney got nearly $81,000 from The Villages during the middle of last year — an odd finding, given that The Villages proved a bastion of Tea Party loyalists in 2010. The community's 86,000 residents made the national news that year for their support of then-U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio and other Tea Party favorites.

The presidential race has revealed another characteristic of The Villages: the deep split between the political leanings of its residents and the loyalties of the Morse family, which developed the retirement community.

The bulk of Romney's support from The Villages last year came from a single event in April where 31 donors, including members of the Morse family, each gave Romney $2,500, the maximum for the primary.

Rank-and-file residents of The Villages gave Gingrich $700, all of it in small increments, last year. Paul got a single $250 donation. Santorum got nothing.

Romney is "not getting a lot of support from the villagers," said Pam Dahl, president of the Tri-County Tea Party of Florida.

Dahl said Santorum spoke to residents of The Villages on Monday, but a straw poll soon after showed the residents' strongest support was for Gingrich."We all seem to feel that he's the best person to go up against Obama," Dahl said.

What's less clear is how many of those Tea Party supporters in The Villages will open their wallets for Gingrich. After the community's previous favorite, Herman Cain, left the race in December, residents lost some of their political momentum, Dahl said.