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SARASOTA, Fla. -- Mitt Romney's newly aggressive campaign sent a leading Florida surrogate, Republican Rep. Connie Mack IV, to attend a Newt Gingrich rally here Tuesday, intent upon raising more questions about the former House speaker's relationship with the government-sponsored housing giant Freddie Mac.

Mack said state voters "want to know why Newt Gingrich was being paid by Freddie Mac, what the relationship was," adding that Floridians have been hurt by the housing crisis and the failures of big mortgage lenders. "No one's buying that he was a historian."

The Gingrich Group collected $1.6 million from Freddie Mac to do consulting work from 1999 through 2006 -- just before the foreclosure crisis took root. In a CNBC debate last year, Gingrich described his Freddie Mac role as "historian," though he said he also provided strategic advice.

Romney isn't buying it.

In response to the Romney campaign's urging, Gingrich advised attorneys to release his group's contract with the mortgage lender, which they did two hours before Monday night’s GOP debate. A quick perusal of the contract reveals that the words "history" and "historian" do not appear.

Romney has asserted that Gingrich was hired by the "chief lobbyist" for Freddie Mac and served as an "influence peddler," not a historian. With Mack's appearance at Gingrich's rally here today, it's clear the Romney team intends to continue driving that point.

Of course, neither campaign has offered a full-fledged plan to address the country's housing woes. When a reporter asked Mack if it troubled him that Romney didn't offer such a plan at an event Monday focused on that very issue, Mack responded, "Where is Newt's?"

As Mack held court with reporters, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond approached and tried to engage the congressman in a mini-debate about the two candidates’ backgrounds.

Hammond asked why Romney's aides cleared out files and computer hard drives from the Massachusetts governor’s office when Romney's term heading the Bay State was winding down five years ago. Hammond has used the same line of attack as the fight over Gingrich’s contracts and Romney’s tax returns has intensified in recent days.

To keep up the same level of transparency, Hammond said that Gingrich will release estimates for his 2011 tax return, as Romney did this morning. "If he shows a little leg, we'll show a little leg," Hammond explained.

A new national poll shows Gingrich taking the lead from Romney, who had steadily held the top spot. And as the stakes have risen, the race has gotten nastier and more personal. But Gingrich believes he's in the driver's seat. At his rally here, he repeated a point made to voters in South Carolina last week: "If we win the Republican primary next Tuesday, I believe I will be the Republican nominee."