(1144 delegates required for outright victory)
Mitt Romney 844
Rick Santorum (campaign suspended) 260
Newt Gingrich 137
Ron Paul 79
RICK SANTORUM suspended his presidential campaign last night, leaving the way clear for Mitt Romney to take the Republican nomination for the general election in November.
Mr Santorum made his decision as the race resumed following a tough Easter break for the former Pennsylvania senator.
Even for an ambitious man like him, some things in life are clearly more important than politics.
That point was reinforced when Mr Santorum's young daughter Bella, who suffers from a rare genetic condition, was hospitalised last week.
Though she was subsequently discharged on Monday, it seems likely that the health scare had a profound effect on Mr Santorum when he considered the state of his campaign.
After all, it was already highly unlikely that he was going to win the eventual nomination anyway.
Front-runner Mr Romney has claimed more than twice as many delegates after a string of successes in the liberal north east which had rejected Mr Santorum's brand of evangelical conservatism.
Indeed, since the last win for Mr Santorum in Louisiana, Mr Romney has prevailed in Maryland, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
There are further victories expected at the end of April in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and even in Mr Santorum's state of Pennsylvania.
Yet, despite his advantage, Mr Romney is so far only just over half way towards the 1,144 delegates required to secure the nomination officially.
But, with Mr Santorum now out of the way and some delegate-rich states like California and Texas yet to go to the polls, Mr Romney will inevitably reach his target eventually.
Still hoping that he somehow failss is third-placed candidate Newt Gingrich.
The former House Speaker has spent the last four months splitting the right-wing vote between himself and Mr Santorum.
However, he has now made an audacious appeal to Mr Santorum's backers after news of his rival's withdrawal filtered through.
"I am committed to staying in this race all the way to Tampa so that the conservative movement has a real choice," said Mr Gingrich, even though he is less likely still to win than Mr Santorum.
"I humbly ask Senator Santorum's supporters to visit newt.org to review my conservative record and join us as we bring these values to Tampa."
Labelling himself as the candidate who could win in the Deep South, Mr Gingrich became a busted flush once he lost in Alabama and Mississippi to Mr Santorum last month.
Moreover, Mr Gingrich is struggling for funds and all too aware that he will also have to step aside once the delegate mathematics ultimately work out for Mr Romney.
Assuming, then, that there are no more dramatic twists in this extraordinary contest, this has still been a long, hard road to victory for the former Massachusetts senator.
Even before the opening contest in Iowa in January, there had been an array of front-runners for the nomination including Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain.
Mr Romney made some early inroads once the contest started properly, but he seemed intent on ceding his advantage - firstly to Mr Gingrich in South Carolina, and then to Mr Santorum in the mid-West states.
Despite far exceeding the spending power of his rivals, multi-millionaire businessman Mr Romney consistently failed to appeal to the Republican support base on the conservative right.
Worse still, he hardly helped himself with a series of gaffes which made him look aloof and out-of-touch with the needs of 'Middle America'.
Nevertheless, as the most moderate candidate, he was still recognised by the bigwigs in the Grand Old Party as the man most likely to beat incumbent Democrat President Barack Obama.
The drawn-out and divisive Republican nomination seems to have harmed Mr Romney's chances in the general election, though.
Not only has it used up vital funds but the latest polls suggest Mr Romney faces an uphill task to beat Mr Obama on 6 November.
Indeed, a new poll from the Washington Post/ABC News puts Mr Obama on 51%, ahead of Mr Romney by seven points. It is a significant lead in what is effectively a two-horse race.
Buoyed by his ratings, Mr Obama was in Florida yesterday to push his "Buffett rule" in a call for millionaires to pay higher taxes - and it seems likely at the moment that he will have four more years in which to enact his plans.
Meanwhile, Mr Santorum looks like he might have just given himself four more years to prepare for another presidential bid.
After all, it was exactly what Mr Romney did four years ago. The nominee-elect effectively used his failed attempt in 2008 to build his support base and come back stronger in the 2012 process.
Realising that he had no chance against Mr Romney, and possibly seeing the general election against Mr Obama as a lost cause anyway, could it be the case that Mr Santorum is doing the same for 2016?
2012 PRIMARY/CAUCUS SCHEDULE
KEY DATES
3 January Iowa (caucus) - Rick Santorum
10 January New Hampshire (primary) - Mitt Romney
21 January South Carolina (primary) - Newt Gingrich31 January Florida (primary) - MR
4 February Nevada (caucus) - MR
7 February Colorado (caucus) - RS, Minnesota (caucus) - RS
11 February Maine (caucus) - MR
28 February Arizona (primary) - MR, Michigan (primary) - MR
29 February Wyoming (caucus) - MR
29 February Wyoming (caucus) - MR
3 March Washington (caucus) - MR
6 March: Super Tuesday Alaska (caucus) - MR, Georgia (primary) - NG, Idaho (caucus) - MR, Massachusetts (primary) - MR, North Dakota (caucus) - RS, Ohio (primary) - MR, Oklahoma (primary) - RS, Tennessee (primary) - RS, Vermont (primary) - MR, Virginia (primary) - MR
10 March Kansas (caucus) - RS, US Virgin Islands (caucus) - MR
13 March Alabama (primary) - RS, Hawaii (caucus) - MR, Mississippi (primary) - RS
20 March Illinois (primary) - MR
24 March Louisiana (primary) - RS, Missouri (caucus) - RS
3 April District of Columbia (primary) - MR, Maryland (primary) - MR, Wisconsin (primary) - MR
8 May Indiana (primary), North Carolina (primary), West Virginia (primary)
15 May Nebraska (primary), Oregon (primary)
22 May Arkansas (primary), Kentucky (primary)
29 May Texas (primary)
5 June California (primary), Montana (primary), New Jersey (primary), New Mexico (primary), South Dakota (primary)
26 June Utah (primary)
27-30 August REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION Tampa, Florida
3-6 September DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION Charlotte, North Carolina
6 November US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
No comments:
Post a Comment