Super Tuesday”: Romney grabs early lead, Santorum on his heels, Gingrich vows fight
By
Olivier KnoxWhite House Correspondent By
Olivier Knox |
The Ticket – 1 hr 39 mins ago Eight months from Election Day, Mitt Romney's efforts to put the Republican presidential nomination at long last beyond his rivals' reach got a "Super Tuesday" boost as he carried Vermont, Virginia and his home state of Massachusetts. But the on-again, off-again frontrunner was locked in a neck-and-neck race in the vital battleground of Ohio with conservative challenger Rick Santorum, who won Tennessee and Oklahoma as expected and vowed to fight.
"This campaign is about the towns that have been left behind -- and the families that made those towns the greatest towns across this country, " the former Pennsylvania senator said in a hoarse but defiant speech in Steubenville, Ohio. "This was a big night tonight. Lots of states. We're going to win a few, we're going to lose a few. But as it looks right now, we're going to get at least a couple of gold medals, and a whole passel full of silver medals."
"We're ready to win across this country," said Santorum, in a business suit rather than his trademark sweater vest.
Newt Gingrich's faltering campaign got a shot in the arm as media forecasts anointed him the winner in his home state of Georgia. The former speaker wasted no time scolding the "elite media" for counting him out time and again in the months-long, topsy-turvy fight for the right to take on President Barak Obama come November 6.
"It's alright. There are lots of bunny rabbits that run through. I'm the tortoise. I just take one step at a time," he said with wife Callista at his side in his Atlanta headquarters as supporters waved "Newt-a-Mania" signs.
Texas Representative Ron Paul, backed by a devoted army of mostly young voters, showed no sign of giving up
The candidates were vying for a share of the 419 delegates at stake overall — more than every preceding nominating contest combined -- in Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.
Fewer delegates were at stake in Ohio than in Georgia but a potentially more meaningful duel was under way between Romney and Santorum in the Buckeye State. As of 9:45 p.m. EST, it was too close to call.
On a flight back to Boston from Ohio, Romney and his wife Ann chatted and joked with reporters on his campaign plane and prepared for their first night at home since January 6.
"I'm looking forward to being home, sleeping in our own bed tonight," Romney said. "It will be a late night most likely. This has been a long one," the candidate said about the campaign. "But for you guys it's been the same thing."
"While it may not be make or break, it's going to be a huge, huge deal," Santorum said at a Monday night rally in Ohio about tonight's voting there, adding later: "It's gut check time. Who wants it the most? What do ya say?"
At the White House, the man Republicans have vowed to oust wasn't relinquishing the political spotlight: Obama held his first solo press conference of 2012 and playfully joked about what aides implausibly insisted was an accident of scheduling.
"Now, I understand there are some political contests going on tonight, but I thought I'd start the day off by taking a few questions, which I'm sure will not be political in nature," he said, before blasting his Republican critics on Iran.
Romney and wife Ann Romney attended an election-night party at 9:40 pm in Boston. Despite his win in Massachusetts, a lot of voters in the state were not exactly showering him with love.
Santorum is to head to an election-night party in Steubenville, Ohio, that begins at 8 p.m. EST. Upsetting Romney in Ohio would be a major adrenaline boost to Santorum's campaign for the GOP nomination.
Gingrich spent the day in Georgia, except for a midday campaign swing in Alabama, which holds its primary March 13.
Paul, who has yet to win a state in the nomination battle, spent the day campaigning in Idaho and North Dakota. Speaking in Fargo as early returns came in, the veteran lawmaker said he was the only candidate to buck the two major parties' orthodoxies.
Update, 9:45 p.m. EST: This post has been updated to reflect news media forecasts.
Read coverage of Super Tuesday 2012 at Yahoo News.
