GOP rivals to compete in distinctive Fla.

TAMPA Fla. -- Now it's Florida's turn.

And Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have just 10 days to navigate a state unlike any they've competed in so far.

Florida is six times larger than New Hampshire, has almost five times more Hispanics than Iowa, and, with numerous media markets, is much more expensive for candidates than South Carolina, where Gingrich trounced Romney on Saturday. The primary is on Jan. 31.

The remaining candidates -- Romney, Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul -- planned to be in the state today for the first of two presidential debates this week.

There are 10 distinct media markets in Florida, which helps explain the tremendous cost of running a statewide campaign here. And the voters are anything but homogeneous.

Northern Florida along the panhandle is the least populated and considered the most culturally conservative.

Southeastern Florida is traditionally not as conservative as the rest of the state, offering a large Latino population and many Northeastern transplants and Jewish voters.

Cubans make up roughly a third of the state's Hispanic population and figure to play prominently.

Romney's team is based in Tampa, and it has spent weeks working to woo the 200,000 people who already have cast ballots through absentee and early voting.