( CNN ) -- As Florida Republican operatives look past Tuesday 's primary , they are clear about what it will take to carry their state in November -- winning swing voters . While the 2012 GOP presidential race has sometimes seemed like a competition among the Republican White House hopefuls over who can appeal to the party 's hard core , the fall campaign will be about winning the middle , according to a CNN survey of 47 Florida GOP insiders -- state legislators , political consultants , fundraisers , veterans of previous primary campaigns , tea party advocates and a variety of other party activists . Which do you think is relatively more important to winning Florida in the general election ? Having a nominee who can win swing voters : 83 % . Having a nominee who excites the conservative base : 13 % . Both ( volunteered ) : 4 % . That overwhelming verdict comes in part because of the belief that conservatives will show up at the polls just to vote against the incumbent , President Barack Obama , even if they 're not thrilled with the GOP nominee . `` Swing is key , '' said one Florida GOP insider . `` The base will be motivated anyway . '' Echoed another : `` Conservatives will be there regardless . '' CNN Florida Insiders Survey : 'Romney stepping up his game ' Another key voting bloc in Florida in the general election will be Hispanic and Latino voters . The GOP insiders thought that Mitt Romney would be their best bet in the fall . Who do you think would have the strongest appeal to Hispanic and Latino voters in the general election ? Mitt Romney : 64 % . Newt Gingrich : 33 % . Rich Santorum : 1 % . When the Florida insiders were asked how easy it would be to get behind a prospective nominee , only one candidate among the remaining contenders seems to face a severe enthusiasm deficit when it comes to the fall campaign -- Texas Rep. Ron Paul . His isolationist views on national security are anathema to many Republicans , and his libertarian bent can also cause some concerns among social conservatives . Would you have a hard time enthusiastically supporting any of these candidates if he was the nominee ? Ron Paul : 71 % . Newt Gingrich : 28 % . Rick Santorum : 24 % . Mitt Romney : 9 % . `` Ron Paul is Ron Paul , but Newt simply does n't fit the profile of a winning GOP candidate in Florida , '' said one party insider who is unaffiliated with any of the campaigns . `` You have to be able to excite the conservative base and not turn off swing voters . Swing voters ( would ) flee from Newt faster than that golf ball his by Alan Shepard took off on the moon . '' Polls that currently show Romney with the best chance to defeat Obama are one of the reasons why the former Massachusetts governor is a favorite among the party establishment . `` I 'd have a hard time supporting anyone other than Romney because I know none of the others can beat Obama , '' said one Florida GOP insider . Still , another Florida GOP insider lamented , `` I think this is the weakest field we have ever put forth in my lifetime . The CNN Florida insiders were surveyed from Thursday afternoon through Saturday . The survey was conducted over the Internet . The Florida insiders were given anonymity for their individual answers to encourage candid responses . Just under half of the insiders said they were formally aligned with one of the presidential campaigns , and half said they had neither endorsed any candidate nor were they working for one . Overall , one-third of the insiders backed Romney , while just under one-sixth supported Gingrich . If only the responses from insiders currently unaligned with any of the candidates were tabulated , the results predicted the primary vote would be Romney 39 % , Gingrich 32 % , Santorum 15 % , Paul 10 % , and other 2 % . Here are the names of the participants in the survey : Brian Ballard , Slater Bayliss , Kim Bertron , Sally Bradshaw , Bertica Cabrera Morris , Christian Camara , Al Cardenas , David Cardenas , Len Collins , Nelson Diaz , Jose Diaz , Brett Doster , Charlie Dudley , Tom Feeney , Jose Fuentes , Rich Heffley , Ann Herberger , Brecht Heuchan , Christina Johnson , David Johnson , Frederick Leonhardt , Carlos M. Lopez-Cantera , Jose Mallea , Alberto E. Martinez , Nancy McGowan , Will McKinley , Kathy Mears , Paul Mitchell , Kris Money , Ana Navarro , Esther Nuhfer , Jeanette Nunez , Andy Palmer , Van B. Poole , Marc Reichelderfer , Todd Reid , Jim Rimes , Monica Rodriguez , Sarah Rumpf , Terry Sullivan , Frank Terraferma , Todd Thomson , Cory Tilley , Tom A. Tillison , Greg Turbeville , Susan Wiles and Brian Yablonski .
`` Swing is key , '' says one Santorum Obama insider . The fight in Tuesday will not be focused on exciting the base , it will be about winning the middle . Latino Republicans make up a key block , and Ron Paul seems to have their support . Most insiders say they 'd have a hard time supporting Romney if he were nominated .