The results of Alabama and Mississippi were close enough to blur any great advantage to any candidate.
Alabama
Santorum 36%
Romney 29%
Gingrich 29%
(Romney leading Gingrich by 55 votes, with 99% reporting)
Mississippi
Santorum 33%
Gingrich 31%
Romney 30%
Hawaii
Romney 45%
Santorum 25%
Paul 18%
Gingrich 11%
American Samoa
Romney won all 9 delegates; no vote-numbers reported
Politically, however, it's a little different. Even though polls in Alabama and Mississippi have little reliability historically, plus their volatility this year, there was some expectation that Gingrich would win AL, that Romney was strong in MS, and that it would be close among the three.
By winning both Alabama and Mississippi, Santorum gained the advantage of exceeding expectations and the sense of a groundswell for him as the very conservative, moral-values vote instead of Gingrich. It shouldn't hurt Romney much, since the South is not his natural territory -- and he actually won the most delegates overall yesterday.
But it does hurt Gingrich not to win either of these deep-South states to add to his two wins in South Carolina and Georgia.
Evidence of the desperation of his campaign to find a reason to hang on are his floating possible "dream tickets," first with Rick Perry as his #2 last week; and now today the "Dream Ticket" of Gingrich and Santorum.
Exactly what does Newt think he would bring to Santorum on a ticket, since Santorum is beating him in his own (proclaimed) backyard?
No, it smells more of desperation. That doesn't mean Newt is going to drop out if this doesn't catch on. It does mean that he is grasping at straws.
When we look at delegates won yesterday, including his big wins in the Hawaii and American Samoan caucuses, it's actually Romney that won the day.
Romney 41
Santorum 35
Gingrich 24
Paul 1
Ralph
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The final count in Alabama puts Gingrich in second place and Romney in third.
ReplyDeleteA former Gingrich campaign aide said that it's probably only Newt and Callista that think he can pull this off and win in the end. Meanwhile, if he continues, it will hurt the party, and "It makes him look foolish."
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