Thursday, February 7, 2008

Election Update - Mitt Romney "Suspends" Campaign

Mitt Romney effectively ended his bid for the Presidency by suspending his campaign in order to provide the Republican party with unity heading into the general election. He made the announcement at the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference). He said that a drawn out GOP campaign would weaken and divide the party, making it easier for the Democratic candidate--Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton--to win the White House come November. He called for unity in the party against the threat of radical Islam and of surrender in the war on terror. Several notable conservative leaders, including Billy Graham, have already pledged support for McCain, while others, such as Sean Hannity, approach the Senator with caution. Mike Huckabee has stated that he has no plans of quitting any time soon.

Election Update
More accurate Super Tuesday delegate numbers are now available.

Democrats (2,025 needed to win)
Hillary Clinton: 1,033(193 Superdelegates)
Barack Obama: 937(106 Superdelegates)

Additionally, the New Mexico have been updated.
99% Reporting
Hillary Clinton: 49%(68,654)
Barack Obama: 48%(67,531)

My Take
Not much has changed. Hillary's lead has grown in New Mexico, so she will probably win, but it will only be a gain of one delegate, and the Democratic party is already looking towards future contests.

Republicans (1,191 needed to win)
John McCain: 714(17 Superdelegates)
Mitt Romney: 286(0 Superdelegates)
Mike Huckabee: 181(3 Superdelegates)

My Take
Romney's move opens up a lot of the conservative vote, especially in the caucuses where his performance was superb. The conservative vote might switch to Huckabee, making this a close election, but there is little room for error if Huckabee wants a majority. Huckabee's performance will improve, especially in the South, but it is my belief that John McCain will win the nomination.

Side Note
It certainly is ironic that what was once a contested GOP field has developed into dominance for Senator McCain while the Democrat field, previously epitomized by trends of single candidate dominace, is now so hotly contested. Many people predicted a divided GOP convention, but, if anything, a divided Democratic party is more likely. What will happen? Only time will tell, stay tuned.

Extra Information
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/07/romney.campaign/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/#D
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/#val=R

1 comment:

Jacob said...

You know, just to bug a hell of a lot of people, I am publicly giving my support to Hilary Clinton. You go girl! =]


But on a serious note, I am refraining from giving my true political loyalties, seeing as I was almost shot earlier today at school for making a comment that went something like "I hope Hilary's going to win."

If politics are so important for people, shouldn't we all be entitled to our own views and opinions? I guess some people are just too pigheaded to understand that there is more than one way to look at a picture....

Yeah, I still <3 this blog =]