Mitt Romney Wins Puerto Rico Primary

Romney wins big in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico …

CNN is calling the Puerto Rico primary for Mitt Romney. It appears that Romney will win an overwhelming victory over Santorum. With 11% of the vote counted, Romney had 82% of the vote.  20 delegates are up for grabs and because the Romney’s victory appears to be so convincing, Romney will claim all 20 delegates.

Mitt Romney will win Sunday’s Republican presidential primary in Puerto Rico, CNN projects, based on vote results obtained from local party and election officials.

At 6:50 p.m. ET, with about 11% of total ballots accounted for, the former Massachusetts governor had a substantial lead with more than 11,500 votes — or 82% of the votes.

Rick Santorum was a distant second, at 9% with more than 1,200 votes.

See the vote totals HERE. With 18% of the vote in, Romney 83%, Santorum 8%, Gingrich 3% and Paul 1%.

Larry Sabato Looks Into his Crystal Ball and Predicts Mitt Romney Will Dominate GOP Primaries Through April

Larry J. Sabato looks into his political Crystal Ball and says that Mitt Romney will dominate the GOP Presidential primaries through April. Last Tuesday’s “Southern Primary” where Santorum won in Mississippi and Alabama really did not change much of anything. At the evening’s end, with Romney’s victory in Hawaii, he wound up winning the most delegates and that is what the game is all about. However, according to Sabato look for Romney to increase his delegate lead in the up coming months.

Credit: Sabato’s Crystal Ball

That’s because their front-running rival, Mitt Romney, appears poised to further pad his lead in delegates in upcoming Republican nomination contests, starting with Illinois next Tuesday and through a northeastern primary day on April 24.

From now until the end of April, we expect Romney to win not only the majority of nominating contests, but also the majority of delegates awarded in these contests.

It’s fair to ask how Romney’s position can be so strong after finishing third in the two major primaries held on Tuesday, Alabama and Mississippi. The most important thing anyone can do on any primary night is to remember the calendar — not the primary schedule but the general election date. The two Deep South primaries appear critical, yet they will be long forgotten by Labor Day, much less Nov. 6. Barring a massive, difficult to fathom shift in this contest, Mitt Romney has a better than 80% chance to be the GOP nominee. No amount of wild tapping on CNN’s magic wall will alter those odds.

Currently as per RCP, Mitt Romney has 496 delegate and Santorum 236. Romney needs 648 more delegates to gain the nomination while Santorum needs 908. Obviously Romney has an easier path to the nomination. However, at this point the only reason why Santorum and Gingrich as remaining in the race is to gain as many delegates as they can under the premise that a delegate gained is one that Romney cannot. The March goes on to the GOP nomination …

Rick Santorum Did it Again … Wins in Alabama & Mississippi Primaries and Mitt Romney in Hawaii Caucuses

Deep South Tuesday primaries and Hawaii Caucuses …

It was close; however, in the end Rick Santorum wins in the Deep South Alabama and Mississippi primaries.In Alabama it was a virtual tie among Santorum, Gingrich and Romney with the GOP Presidential hopefuls gaining 32.9%, 31.3% and 30.3% respectively. Santorum won in Mississippi with 34.5%, Gingrich 29.3% and Romney with 29.0% .

The triumphs by Mr. Santorum elevated and strengthened his candidacy as the Republican campaign rolls ahead into a state-by-state battle for delegates. An aggressive push by Mr. Romney to try and capitalize on the divided conservative electorate failed to take hold, and he finished third in both states.

“We did it again,” Mr. Santorum said, addressing jubilant supporters in Louisiana, which holds its Republican primary next week. “The time is now for conservatives to pull together.”

In Hawaii, Romney won easily with 45.4% of the vote, Santorum a distant second with 25.3%, Paul with 18.3% and Gingrich last with 11%. At the evenings end, Romny will most likely wind up winning the most delegates when they are proportionally distributed in Alabama, Mississippi and Hawaii.

With Gingrich losing Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi to Santorum, one does have to question whether Newt really is the ‘Southern” candidate. Although, I do not believe in candidates telling others to get out of the race to make it easier for themselves, at some point Newt Gingrich is going to have to read the tea leaves and admit that the voters believe that Santorun is the stronger Conservative GOP candidate.It probably is time for Gingrich to be a statesman and gracefully bow out of the race.

“We did it again,” Mr. Santorum told supporters in Louisiana on Tuesday night. He added: “Ordinary folks can defy the odds, day in, day out.”

The results cast a shadow on the candidacy of Newt Gingrich, who was banking on a sweep of the Deep South to carry him to the nomination. He squeaked into a second-place finish in both states, ahead of Mr. Romney—and vowing to stay in the race.

“Newt has given it a great run, but Santorum has earned a mano-a-mano shot at Romney,” said Keith Appell, a Republican strategist who has worked for a long list of conservative candidates.

Romney Leads Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV Poll Ahead of Illinois March 20 GOP Primary: Romney 35%, Santorum 31%, Gingrich 12% & Paul 7%

According to a recent Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll, Mitt Romney lead the field in the GOP race for the state of Illinois. Once again it appears to be a two man race with Romney capturing 35% of the vote and Santorum 31%. Gingrich and Paul are a distant third and fourth place. However, 16% of the vote is undecided and 46% of those polled stated that they could change their mind between now and the March 20th primary.

Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney’s campaign has long considered Illinois to be in its win column, but a new Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows the candidate has some work to do to make that a reality.

The survey found Romney slightly ahead of Rick Santorum, 35 percent to 31 percent — within the poll’s 4-percentage-point margin of error. Trailing far behind were Newt Gingrich with 12 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul with 7 percent. Another 16 percent were undecided.

Much of the undecided vote might change following the Alabama and Mississippi primaries and depending how strong a showing that Romney does in the Southern states.

Polls Have Mitt Romney Ahead in Mississippi and Tied in Alabama Ahead of Tuesday’s Primaries

In the days leading to the Tuesday primaries in the deep South in Mississippi and Alabama, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is doing surprising well in the Heart of Dixie. According to the most recent Rasmussen poll in Mississippi its, Romney 35%, Santorum 27%, Gingrich 27%, Paul 6%. Its almost hard to believe that Romney, who has never had a grit in his life, is leading by 8 against the Conservative candidate Santorum and  the so-called Southern candidate Gingrich.

Dead heat in the Heart of Dixie … And in the deep South of Alabama it is a virtual tie between Romney, Gingrich and Santorum. According to Rasmussen its Gingrich 30%, Santorum 29%, Romney 28%, Paul 7%. The “dead heat” in Alabama might be even more eye opening. Although, if Romney makes any more ignorant comments like campaigning in MS and AL is “an away game” he might see a blow out on primary eve. Mitt might want to understand that if he wins the GOP nomination and faces Obama in the general election it is states in the South that will be the “home field” and one’s like Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts will be hostile territory.

A poll by the Center for Leadership and Public Policy at Alabama State University found Mr. Romney with 20.2% support among likely Republican primary voters, virtually tied with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 20.7% of the vote. Former Sen. Rick Santorum was close behind with 16.6% among Republicans in Alabama, which will hold its primary on Tuesday along with Mississippi and Hawaii. Other candidates, including Rep. Ron Paul, received 15.1%. The poll’s error margin is five percentage points.

Many voters — 27.4% — remained undecided. But the poll’s finding was still a notably strong showing for Mr. Romney because the more-conservative, evangelical-heavy South has been considered more hospitable to Messrs. Gingrich and Santorum, who are competing to be recognized as the principal alternative to the Massachusetts Governor. Mr. Romney in a Thursday campaign appearance downplayed expectations in Alabama and Mississippi by comparing the region’s contest to “an away game.’’

Newt Gingrich has stated that he won’t quit GOP presidential race if he loses Tuesday in Mississippi and Alabama. Really Newt, why? You have been mouthing off that Santorum should quit to make it a one on one match up between yourself and Romney. However, Newt has called himself the “Southern” candidate. Sorry, but if you cannot win Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi … you most likely are receiving no Southern comfort.

We shall see what happens next Tuesday.