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SECONDARY MARKET ANALYTICS SERVICING ORIGINATION THE LATEST ORIGINATION killing small businesses, and kill- ing independent banks," he said. He tried to avoid talk of an end to his campaign by framing it as a "two-person race" with Romney. Behind Gingrich, sup- porters touted signs that read "46 States to Go." For his part, Romney turned his focus to President Barack Obama and the general election by saying that "more Americans have lost their jobs and more home foreclosures have occurred than during the administration of any other president in history." He recounted the story of "a father who was terrified that this would be the last night he and his family would sleep in the only home that his son has ever known" and said of Obama: "Leadership is about taking re- sponsibility, not making excuses." Housing re-entered a season known for numerous debates once the Romney campaign, reel- ing from a Gingrich victory in South Carolina, began to air ads that endeavored to tie the former House speaker and his $1.6 mil- lion consulting contract with Freddie Mac to the housing and foreclosure crises in Florida. Numerous analysts credit the Housing Politics Hurts GOP Candidate Gingrich rout indicates housing remains a key turning point for those on the campaign trail. R epublican presidential candidates used housing issues in Florida recently to trump up their bona fides in separate addresses. With nearly all precincts reporting in Florida, former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) routed former House speaker and rival Newt Gingrich by 46.4 percent to 31.9 percent. 36 | THE M REPORT Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) walked away with 13.4 percent and 7 percent of the vote, respectively. Reporting by multiple news outlets showed that the Dodd- Frank Act, big banks, and foreclosures all made appearances in addresses by Gingrich and Romney. Delivering an address that no- tably lacked any reference to his rival's victory, Gingrich extolled his pro-market views to voters by pledging to repeal the Obama administration's 2010 financial reform law. If elected, "I will ask them [Congress] to immediately pass the repeal of the Dodd-Frank bill, which is killing housing, wave of negative ads with help- ing the former Massachusetts governor head off a primary threat from Gingrich. Analysts say Romney will benefit from a heavy Mormon population in future stops on the campaign trail and may give the candidates an opportunity to drag housing back into a political debate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) joined two other former officials from the state by criticizing Romney for his housing views in a column published by the Las Vegas Sun. "The last time Romney came here, he told homeowners facing foreclosure that we should stand back and let the crisis 'hit the bottom' so investors can come in and make a quick buck," the three wrote. "We would rather have a president with empathy for the people who live in those houses, not for the speculators who want to flip them."