March 7, 2012

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won 5 of the 10 “Super Tuesday” state primary contests in his bid for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. As expected, he handily took his home state of Massachusetts, as well as Alaska, Idaho, Vermont, and Virginia. He also took the swing state of Ohio, but just barely–with 38 percent of the vote, compared with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s 37 percent. Santorum won in North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich took his home state of Georgia, essentially putting himself back in the race.

Mitt Romney Abby Brack, Romney for President, Inc.

Of the delegates up for grabs in the 10 races, Romney captured 211, compared with Santorum’s 84. Romney now leads with 415 delegates committed to backing him at the Republican national convention in Tampa, Florida, in August. He needs 1,144 delegates to win the nomination and go on to challenge President Barack Obama in November. A Washington Post/ABC News poll shows only 35 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Romney, compared with 32 percent for Rick Santorum and Representative Ron Paul and 23 percent for Newt Gingrich.

Rick Santorum U.S. Senate

Feb. 8, 2012

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum stunned his three competitors for the Republican presidential nomination by winning the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses and the Missouri primary on February 7.

In Minnesota, Santorum took 44.8 percent of the vote, compared with Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s 27 percent and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 16.9 percent. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich came in fourth with 10.7 percent.

Santorum won the Missouri primary with 55 percent of the vote, well ahead of Romney’s 25 percent and Paul’s 12 percent. Gingrich was not on the ballot in Missouri.

Former Senator Richard J. Santorum won Republican presidential primaries in Colorado, Minnesota, and Minneapolis. U.S. Senate

The vote was closer in Colorado.  Santorum polled 40 percent, and Romney finished with nearly 35 percent. Gingrich and Paul took 12.8 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively.

Political experts again raised the question about the supposed front-runner–Mitt Romney: Will a candidate from Massachusetts who was once considered a political moderate ever be an acceptable standard-bearer for a Republican Party increasingly dominated by highly conservative tea party activists and evangelical Christians?