On Tuesday, after finishing in third place in the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, one of the leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, unveiled his team to lead his efforts in the Sunshine State.

“This is the team that will beat President Obama in Florida,” Katie Packer Gage, Romney’s deputy campaign manager, said in a statement released on Tuesday morning. “This team will be critical as Mitt Romney campaigns across Florida spreading his pro-growth message and working to bring jobs back to the state.”

Romney’s new team in the Sunshine State contains some experienced Republican operatives and strategists who have worked at the state and national levels.

Molly Donlin, who led former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s efforts in Florida in the 2008 battle for the Republican presidential nomination, will be Romney’s director in Florida. J.C. Hernandez, the former Miami-Dade GOP executive director and Marco Rubio staffer, will be serving as Romney’s field director. Alex Melendez -- who worked for successful Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott in 2010 and GOP presidential nominee John McCain in 2008 -- will lead Romney’s team in Tampa Bay, while political consultant Andrew Messer will lead his efforts in North Florida. Veteran Florida Republican leader Brett Doster, who led George W. Bush’s efforts in Florida in 2004, will be a strategic adviser for Romney in the Sunshine State.

While Romney is trailing Gov. Rick Perry of Texas in recent national polls, he does hold a commanding lead in polls of New Hampshire, the state that holds the first presidential primary. Romney finished behind both upset winner businessman Herman Cain and Perry in the P5 straw poll on Saturday, but he does have a solid foundation in Florida from his 2008 campaign to use in 2012. 

Romney placed second in Florida during the 2008 presidential primary, taking 31 percent, 5 percent behind McCain, who went on to win the Republican nomination. Romney carried 18 of the state’s 67 counties, showing particular strength on the First Coast and in North-Central Florida but also carrying a handful of counties in the Southwestern part of the state. During the 2010 election cycle, Romney was active in the Sunshine State backing candidates for state and federal office.

A host of Florida Republicans have already endorsed Romney and some of them -- particularly U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney and state Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville -- were spinning Romney’s message after debates held in the Sunshine State.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.