Nate Silver: There has been some speculation that Democrats could struggle to hold the Jewish vote in 2012. They had struggled, for instance, in the special election in New York’s 9th Congressional District in 2011, which has a heavy Orthodox Jewish population.

But there is no sign tonight of Jewish voters switching their registration over to the Republican side in Florida. According to early exit polls, just 1 percent of voters in tonight’s Republican primary identified as Jewish. That’s down from 3 percent in the Florida Republican primary in 2008, which also might mean that Jewish Republican voters in the state are not terribly enthusiastic about this group of candidates. Jewish turnout in general elections in Florida is normally about 4 percent.

AP Reports: American Crossroads, the Republican “super” political committee that plans to play a major role in this year’s presidential campaign, raised more than $51 million along with its nonprofit arm last year, The Associated Press has learned.

The figures from Crossroads – the group backed by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove – are among the first financial reports being made public Tuesday, the deadline for super PACs and presidential candidates to file financial reports with federal election officials. The Crossroads PAC alone has about $15.6 million cash on hand – a sizable figure as it prepares to hit the airwaves this year to help defeat President Barack Obama.

The financial strength of Crossroads underscores the extraordinary impact super PACs could have on this year’s race for the White House. In GOP primaries so far, groups working for or against presidential candidates have spent roughly $25 million on TV ads – about half the nearly $53 million spent on advertising so far to influence voters in the early weeks of the race.

Crossroads’ financial reports, which the AP obtained ahead of the Federal Election Commission, identify wealthy donors who had given contributions reaching as high as seven figures by the end of 2011. Among the largest contributors is Dallas businessman Harold Simmons, who gave the group $5 million last November and whose holding company, Contran Corp., donated an additional $2 million.

Simmons is a major donor to GOP and conservative causes who pumped as much as $4 million into the “swift boat” campaign that helped sink Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry in 2004. Simmons, an early supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential run, also was a fundraising “bundler” putting donations together for Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Read More: Associated Press

CNN Reports: Newt Gingrich denied any knowledge of a robocall put out by his campaign Tuesday claiming rival Mitt Romney refused to fund kosher food for Holocaust survivors during his time as Massachusetts governor.

Gingrich’s campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond confirmed the calls were going out statewide in Florida Tuesday. The call’s claim that Romney vetoed a bill providing kosher meals to nursing home residents during his time as governor first arose Monday, when Gingrich cited a report from the New York Post.

At a campaign stop in Plant City, Florida, Gingrich denied any knowledge of the robocall, despite his campaign claiming responsibility for it.

When asked if the call was “over the top,” Gingrich said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

When pressed, Gingrich said he wouldn’t comment about the call since it was “something I don’t know about.”

Gingrich first made the claim about Romney’s kosher food veto Monday, telling an audience in Jacksonville he read about the veto over the weekend.

The New York Post reported Friday on a veto Romney cast in 2003 that rejected “$600,000 in additional funds for poor Jewish nursing-home residents to get kosher meals.”

Listen to the full RoboCall Here

Read More: CNN

Sheldon Adelson

The Las Vegas Review Journal Reports: Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson distanced himself Monday from a Clark County Republican decision to hold a special presidential caucus after sundown Saturday for observant Jews, saying through a spokesman he and his wife “had no involvement” in the arrangement.

The statement seemed designed to counter concerns by several presidential campaigns that the GOP was giving special consideration to Adelson, who backs presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, have donated $10 million to a pro-Gingrich Political Action Committee.

Ron Reese, a spokesman for Adelson, said the billionaire casino mogul never suggested holding the special 7 p.m. caucus and didn’t personally offer to host it at the Adelson Education Campus. The private school in Summerlin was named after the couple because they are generous donors.

Adelson and his wife aren’t orthodox Jews who must avoid activity during the Sabbath, which starts at sundown on Fridays and continues until sundown on Saturdays. Reese said the couple can participate in the regular caucus meetings, which are scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

“In short, they had no involvement,” Reese said. “At no point did either Mr. Adelson or Dr. (Miriam) Adelson provide any input into the process or intervene in any way.”

But if Sheldon Adelson did not determine the resolution, he did pass along the Jewish community’s concerns to a Republican official.

Read More: Las Vegas Review Journal