Debate Convinces Florida Student to Vote for Ron Paul

WUSF | Steve Newborn | January 24, 2012

The two top contenders for the Republican nomination for president took several shots at each other during a debate at USF's Tampa campus. But the attacks swung at least one student toward another candidate.

A University of South Florida senior majoring in political science wasn't clear on who would get his support before the debate. Ryan Rief says he especially didn't like the sniping between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney over who had the worst resume.

"It's petty politics at this point," says Rief. "I think everyone's said their opinions and everyone knows where they stand, so they're just trying to bash the other one down. There's no new information coming out about their policies or their stances - it's just personal attacks on the taxes like we heard today and the contracts with Freddie Mac, so at this point it's just coming down to personal opinion."

Reef says this debate convinced him to vote for Ron Paul.

"He knows that he's not the front runner in the campaign," he says. "He knows that it's a longshot for the White House. But he's the only one who tells it like it is, and he doesn't care whether or not it gets him votes or whether or not it offends people. He just says it how it is."

But Ron Paul is the only one of the four remaining candidates who is not campaigning in Florida.

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