4 Days and Counting

            This past week there were three Republican primaries, in Michigan, Arizona and Wyoming. All of these were won by the same candidate; Mitt Romney. Last week, I wrote about how both Romney and Santorum were going to have a tough time convincing Michigan voters to vote for them given that both of them opposed the bailout of the auto industry back in 2008. Although Romney was particularly vehement about his opposition, he emerged from the race victorious. It was a close race, with just a few percentage points separating Romney from Santorum. Michigan has 30 delegates, so one would expect Romney to come out of the contest with all 30. However, due to the fact that Michigan has a hybrid primary system in place, they were penalized. Thus, Romney came away with 16 delegates, while Santorum got a consolation prize of 14.

            In Arizona, the race was much less contested, with Romney winning by a definitive margin. Though predictable, this win is actually much more helpful to Romney than his victory in Michigan because of the fact that he got all of Arizona’s 29 delegates. This is the only state out of the three that he won where he gets all of the delegates outright. In Wyoming, as I have mentioned, Romney also won. However, Wyoming’s system is that of a non-binding caucus. So while currently Romney holds 10, Santorum holds 8, Paul holds 6, and Gingrich holds 1, that could all change later on this spring when the actual binding election is held.

            The last election before Super Tuesday, which is this Tuesday March 6^th is in Washington on Saturday March 3^rd. This again, is a non-binding caucus, so the results will be subject to change. Coming into Tuesday, it will be important for the candidates to maintain a positive media presence and some semblance of momentum. There is still no clear nominee in sight, though the field may become clearer after Super Tuesday.