The Republican Party held primaries and caucuses in 21 states yesterday, on Super Tuesday. In the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Arizona Senator John McCain won in nine states and, according to CNN projections early this morning, leads the race with 575 delegates over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (250 delegates), former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (160 delegates), and Texas Congressman Ron Paul (16 delegates) in the delegate count. To win the nomination, 1,191 total delegates are required.
McCain won in states with large numbers of delegates, such as New York (101 delegates) and Missouri (58 delegates), that follow a winner-take-all format in allocating delegates to winners.
While McCain won in New York with 51 percent of the vote compared to the 28 percent of the vote received by Romney, the senator’s victory in Missouri was by a much smaller margin. As the vote counts were reported, McCain and Huckabee exchanged leads of as few as several hundred votes. In the end, McCain claimed the state’s delegates with 33 percent of the vote compared to 32 for Huckabee. Romney finished third in the state with 29 percent.
“We’ve won a number of important victories in the closest thing we’ve ever had to a national primary,” McCain said in celebrating his victories on Tuesday. “Although I’ve never minded the role of the underdog, and I’ve relished as much as anyone come-from-behind wins, tonight, I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican party front-runner for the nomination,” the senator declared.
Romney did not win as many contests as McCain, claiming only seven states. However, while speaking to his supporters, Romney said, “We’re gonna to keep on battling, we’re gonna go all the way to the convention, we’re gonna win this thing, and we’re gonna get in the White House.”
Most of Romney’s victories came in states that held caucuses: Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota. Romney also won in Massachusetts and Utah, noting, “There was a special feeling in my heart when I realized that the three places Anna and I have lived have all voted for us: Michigan, Massachusetts, and Utah.” Romney won with 90 percent of the vote in Utah, taking the state’s 36 delegates.
Huckabee won five states, all in the eastern half of the country. Huckabee won in the first state to have the winner called by CNN, West Virginia, claiming 18 of the state’s delegates, and also won the primaries in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
“Over the past few days, a lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two man race. Well, you know what? It is! And we’re in it!” exclaimed Huckabee, speaking to supporters in his home state of Arkansas. “We’re proving that we’re still on our feet, and much to the amazement of many, we’re getting there folks, we’re getting there.”
Paul did not win any states on Tuesday, but finished second in the Montana caucuses with about 25 percent of the vote. Paul also won five delegates in each of the Alaska and North Dakota caucuses, as the congressman finished third in each state with 17 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
