Race Up For Grabs After Romney's Wins In MI & AZ
The following is commentary from CBS 11's political reporter Jack Fink:
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - As expected, Mitt Romney won Arizona's primary and pulled out a close victory in his home state of Michigan.
But many political analysts believe the Republican primary is still status quo.
As mentioned before, the big contests are Super Tuesday, March 6.
Voters in 10 states are going to the polls, including Massachusetts, Romney's other home state, and Georgia, Newt Gingrich's home state. But the real test will come in Ohio, a large and diverse state where none of the candidates has the home field advantage. Sixty-sixdelegates are at stake in Ohio alone, more than 400 in all.
So far, Rick Santorum, who finished a close second to Romney in Michigan, has a big lead in Ohio. But many expect his 11-point lead there, will narrow, as Romney unleashes a slew of negative ads against Santorum.
If Santorum wins in Ohio, some analysts believe it could re-set the race. It would give Santorum more momentum even though Romney maintains a big lead in the race for delegates.
CBS News shows Romney leads with 157 delegates, Santorum has 58, Gingrich with 30, and Ron Paul has 15. All of the candidates have vowed to fight until the party's convention in late August.
To capture the party's nomination, the candidates need to win 1,144 delegates. Because Republicans have so far not consolidated their support behind a single candidate, many analysts believe the Texas primary, now scheduled for May 29, will matter.
Expect to see a lot of the presidential candidates and their campaign ads on TV. Texas is the second largest prize with 155 delegates. They are being awarded proportionately, so the candidates will have an added incentive to fight for every vote and delegate they can get.
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