Super Tuesday has come and gone.

Looks like on the GOP side there is likely to be a McCain in my future, whether I want one or not.

Sen. John McCain surged closer toward the Republican nomination yesterday by capturing the biggest Super Tuesday states, including California, but failed to knock out his rivals, who deprived him of victories across GOP strongholds in the South and West.

As millions of Republicans went to the polls in 21 states, the senator from Arizona racked up hundreds of delegates on the strength of winner-take-all primaries in the Northeast and elsewhere. But his inability to win in more than half of the states voting yesterday complicated his hopes of rallying the party behind his candidacy.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee scored a surprising sweep of his native South, while former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney picked up a number of states in the West but fell short in critical battlegrounds that would have established him as McCain's primary challenger. Huckabee and Romney vowed last night to stay in the race as it moves to Virginia, Maryland and the District on Tuesday.

What is interesting is the regional division of votes -- McCain generally taking the two coasts, Huckabee the South, and Romney much of the heartland. But given the winner-take-all nature of some of the primaries, McCain has surged ahead to the point that he is approaching 50% of the delegates needed to win the nomination outright. Romney and Huckabee are splitting the rest of the vote, with Religious conservatives favoring the Arkansas governor and the rest favoring the former Massachusetts governor. The irreconcilable diistance between those two candidates means that neither is likely to defer to the other, pretty much assuring a McCain nomination at some point down the road -- though likely not until after the Texas primary in four weeks.

And while the McCain victories clarified much, the results on the Democrat side simply muddy the waters.

Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama carved up the nation in the 22-state nominating contest on Tuesday, leaving the Democratic presidential nomination more elusive than ever. Mrs. Clinton won California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and her home state, New York, while Mr. Obama took Connecticut, Georgia, Minnesota and his base in Illinois.

It may come down to how uncommitted delegates and super-delegates break, and may involve some horse-trading to get one of these candidates over the top. And given the way that many Washington insiders are breaking for Obama, that could swing the nomination his way -- though many state party leaders are supporting Hillary.

Posted by: Greg at 11:02 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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