THE GOP RACE CONTINUES
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanWe continue to watch the amazing race of the GOP candidates as they campaign from state to state making their mark on the voters.
Mitt Romney claimed success this past weekend in Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands and the majority of the delegates in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He had an extremely positive attitude in this uphill battle as the week began. At the same time, Rick Santorum was able to claim the win in Kansas on Saturday but now he is definitely on a roll as victory was his for the taking yesterday in Mississippi and Alabama. Santorum now has victories in 10 states and Romney has wins in 18 states.
Newt Gingrich had relied on the strategy of winning the southern states in order to be a viable contender, especially after winning Georgia and South Carolina, but hopes are beginning to fade after yesterday’s results. However, he is not ready to give up the fight just yet.
CNN’s estimated delegate count today has Romney at 489, Santorum at 234, Gingrich at 139 and Paul falling behind with 66.
As we began this week, Romney needed approximately 48% of the remaining delegates while Santorum needed 66% and Gingrich needed 72%. All three candidates won roughly 1/3 of the combined delegates at stake in Mississippi and Alabama.
Conservative voters still feel more comfortable with Rick Santorum although consensus has it that Mitt Romney is the man to beat President Obama and has more of the delegate count at this point in time which gives him a slight edge.
It will be interesting to see the results of the upcoming caucuses. Santorum is expected to win Missouri while Romney is expected to win Puerto Rico. Illinois will be tight while odds favor Santorum in Louisiana. Romney is the favorite in District of Columbia, Maryland and Wisconsin.
It will definitely be a fight to the finish line.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF AP
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