american prosperity. >> reporter: it was a brutal campaign here in florida, one that grew more nasty, more personal every day. but romney said ultimately it won't have lasting damage. >> a competitive primary does not divide us. it prepares us. and we will win. >> reporter: romney and his allies hammered newt gingrich on television, spending nearly $13.8 million on attack ads in just a week. that's nearly four times what gingrich and his allies spent. but it may not have mattered. based on exit polling data, nearly 6 in 10 voters say the negative ads had little or no effect on their vote. maybe because they made their decision before any of the negative ads even hit the airwaves. 4 in 10 republican voters here say they made their decision back in december. gingrich vowed to stay in the race until the bitter end, which he says is still a long way down the road. >> we are going to contest every