Mitt Romney is hoping to lock down the Republican nomination on Tuesday in America’s biggest single day of voting in the unpredictable race to find a challenger to Barack Obama in November’s presidential election.
At stake in the ‘Super Tuesday’ polls across 10 states are nearly one-third of the delegates needed to clinch the nomination – altogether a larger prize than all the previous Republican ballots combined.
But the scale of tomorrow's vote means it also has the capacity to trip-up the notoriously gaffe-prone favourite.
Mr Romney has won four consecutive contests, including Saturday’s caucuses in Washington, and he is counting on the momentum to help crush his pesky opponents by the time the smoke clears tomorrow morning.
The Republican establishment appears to feel the same, with a string of senior party figures, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, uniting yesterday behind the multi-millionaire former Massachusetts governor.
The aim is to consolidate Republican support behind Romney and heal the growing rifts that are threatening to hurt the eventual candidate’s ability to beat Obama.
But Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, the only two remaining candidates left with any real hopes of closing the gap, have other ideas.
They are squabbling over who is the best hard line conservative to stand against Mr Romney.
Both are hoping that the other does so badly on ‘Super Tuesday’ that they will be forced out of the race, leaving right wingers disgruntled over the frontrunner’s moderate views with just one realistic alternative.
The ballots will stretch from Alaska to America’s southeast, including Ohio, Georgia, Idaho, North Dakota, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Virginia, Vermont and Massachusetts.
‘This is a game of survival,’ conceded Mr Santorum, whose comeback campaign has taken a knock in the most recent primaries.
Mr Romney’s broad, well-disciplined organisation should virtually assure him a bigger share of the delegates than his opponents. Mr Santorum and Mr Gingrich didn’t even collect enough support to qualify to be included on the Virginia ballot, for example.
But Mr Romney has slipped back before when he appeared to be in the driving seat, most notably by irritating voters by flouting the huge fortune he built up as a venture capitalist.
Even as he closes in on the nomination, he is still having trouble endearing himself to the Republican base and even a slight setback tomorrow could have bigger ramifications if the race continues into the spring.
A win by Mr Santorum in the big industrialised state of Ohio would send a signal that Mr Romney is vulnerable, party analysts said last night.
‘Governor Romney, who's outspent all the rest of us by multiples, is a front-runner without any question, but I think he's not a very convincing front-runner, and he's a long way from having closed out this race,’ Mr Gingrich, the former US House Speaker said yesterday.
A convincing win in Georgia, Mr Gingrich’s home state, could also breathe life into his fading campaign.
The fourth remaining candidate, maverick physician Ron Paul, is hoping to pick off some delegates in states like Alaska with more libertarian views.
All told today (Tues), 419 delegates are on offer of the 1,144 needed to secure the nomination. Going into the contests, Mr Romney led with 203 delegates from previous contests, Mr Santorum had 92, Mr Gingrich had 33, and Mr Paul, 25.
At stake in the ‘Super Tuesday’ polls across 10 states are nearly one-third of the delegates needed to clinch the nomination – altogether a larger prize than all the previous Republican ballots combined.
But the scale of tomorrow's vote means it also has the capacity to trip-up the notoriously gaffe-prone favourite.
Battle: Mitt Romney speaks in Ohio - an important battleground for the campaign of Republican presidential candidates, with the state carrying 66 delegates to the Republican National Convention
The Republican establishment appears to feel the same, with a string of senior party figures, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, uniting yesterday behind the multi-millionaire former Massachusetts governor.
The aim is to consolidate Republican support behind Romney and heal the growing rifts that are threatening to hurt the eventual candidate’s ability to beat Obama.
Favourite: Supporters of Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, stand with a puppet of President Barack Obama outside Romney campaign rally
Campaign: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during a campaign rally at an American Legion in Ohio ahead of Super Tuesday
They are squabbling over who is the best hard line conservative to stand against Mr Romney.
Both are hoping that the other does so badly on ‘Super Tuesday’ that they will be forced out of the race, leaving right wingers disgruntled over the frontrunner’s moderate views with just one realistic alternative.
The ballots will stretch from Alaska to America’s southeast, including Ohio, Georgia, Idaho, North Dakota, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Virginia, Vermont and Massachusetts.
‘This is a game of survival,’ conceded Mr Santorum, whose comeback campaign has taken a knock in the most recent primaries.
But Mr Romney has slipped back before when he appeared to be in the driving seat, most notably by irritating voters by flouting the huge fortune he built up as a venture capitalist.
Even as he closes in on the nomination, he is still having trouble endearing himself to the Republican base and even a slight setback tomorrow could have bigger ramifications if the race continues into the spring.
A win by Mr Santorum in the big industrialised state of Ohio would send a signal that Mr Romney is vulnerable, party analysts said last night.
Struggle: A convincing win in Georgia, Mr Gingrich¿s home state, could breathe life into his fading campaign
Libertarian: Maverick physician Ron Paul is hoping to pick off some delegates in states like Alaska with more libertarian views
A convincing win in Georgia, Mr Gingrich’s home state, could also breathe life into his fading campaign.
The fourth remaining candidate, maverick physician Ron Paul, is hoping to pick off some delegates in states like Alaska with more libertarian views.
All told today (Tues), 419 delegates are on offer of the 1,144 needed to secure the nomination. Going into the contests, Mr Romney led with 203 delegates from previous contests, Mr Santorum had 92, Mr Gingrich had 33, and Mr Paul, 25.
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