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Subscribe to RSSMitt Romney picked up a total of six states on Super Tuesday, with Rick Santorum gaining three and Newt Gingrich one. The results, particularly a close race in Ohio, left the contest far from decided. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.
Updated at 7:44 a.m. ET — Mitt Romney scored a narrow victory over Rick Santorum in the Ohio presidential primary following a hard-fought campaign that had been perceived as a turning point in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination. NBC News projected he was the apparent winner in that state.
Both Romney and Santorum won several Super Tuesday caucuses and primaries, but none more prized than Romney's victory in Ohio. The former Massachusetts governor was able to ride a wave of momentum out of Michigan, where he also closely battled Santorum, to erase the former Pennsylvania senator's lead in Ohio over the past week.
The trajectory of the Republican campaign hinged in large part on Ohio, and now Romney may claim the imprimatur associated with winning a state that's considered an essential step toward victory in the general election.
But a margin of just a few thousand votes separated Romney and Santorum, representing a kind of moral victory for Santorum given the way the Romney campaign and a supportive super PAC heavily outspent him in Ohio.
NBC's David Gregory, Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie weigh in on the Super Tuesday results, which left the Republican primary race still wide open.
In all, Romney appeared to have sealed victories in six Super Tuesday states. In addition to Ohio, NBC News projected Romney as the winner in Vermont, Massachusetts, Idaho and Virginia (where only he and Texas Rep. Ron Paul appeared on the ballot). Early Wednesday, Romney added Alaska to his tally.
NBC News projections suggested that Santorum won Tennessee, Oklahoma and North Dakota, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won Georgia, the state from which he had served as a representative in Congress.
Mitt Romney tells a Super Tuesday crowd of supporters that the country can't afford four more years of Barack Obama with no one to answer to.
But neither Santorum nor Gingrich, buoyed by their own wins, seemed any closer by the end of the night to ending their campaigns, reflecting the lingering doubts over Romney among conservatives, which were underscored in exit polling.
Check out the full Super Tuesday results here
"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 gold medals and a whole passel full of silver medals," Santorum said in Steubenville, Ohio, before the state's results were announced. "We have won in the West and the Midwest and the South, and we're ready to win across this country."
The states with contests Tuesday were Georgia, Virginia, Vermont, North Dakota, Ohio, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Idaho, Alaska and Wyoming.
Mark Humphrey / AP
See pictures from around America as 11 states hold contests that will award a combined 424 delegates in the Republican primary.
More delegates were up for grabs on this Super Tuesday than had been previously allocated to the remaining GOP candidates after two months of voting, according to NBC News projections. Between the 10 states holding primaries or caucuses and Wyoming, which will allocate five of its 26 delegates, a total of 424 of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination are at stake.
Delegate race tells a different GOP story
In addition to Ohio, NBC News projected Romney as the winner in Vermont, Massachusetts, Idaho and Virginia (where only he and Texas Rep. Ron Paul appeared on the ballot). Early Wednesday, Romney added Alaska to his tally.
"There are three states under our belt, and counting. We're going to get more by the time this night is over," Romney told supporters in Boston before firmly declaring: "I'm going to get this nomination."
'We're doing some counting'
Romney emerged as the night's winner in terms of delegate haul, a point which he emphasized in his speech.
"Tonight we're doing some counting," he said. "We're counting the delegates for the convention and that looks good, and we're counting down the days to the convention, and that looks better."
But exit polls showed Romney continued to struggle with the most conservative voters, the core of the Republican Party, in states like Ohio and Tennessee -- arguably the two most competitive contests held Tuesday.
NBC's David Gregory and Savannah Guthrie discuss the latest Super Tuesday results in the GOP presidential nominations which hinges on a close race in Ohio.
But Romney performed well among voters who consider the economy their top issue, or who rated a candidate's ability to beat President Barack Obama in November -- two key selling points in the former Massachusetts governor's campaign.
Some Republicans had hoped that Super Tuesday would help propel the Republican race into a new stage, one that draws toward a conclusion given the growing negative cloud surrounding the GOP race.
Santorum camp asking conservatives to pressure Gingrich to drop out
Forty percent of respondents, for instance, said in Monday's NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that the primary process has given them a less favorable opinion of the Republican Party. And more independent voters said in a separate Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll that their impression of the GOP candidates was getting worse as a result of the primary than those who said their opinion was improving.
Gingrich decried that negativity in his election night speech, one in which he vowed to press forward.
"I want you to know that, in the morning, we are going on to Alabama. We're going on to Mississippi. We're going on to Kansas," he said to cheers. "And that's just this week."
After victories in Oklahoma and Tennessee, Rick Santorum expresses optimism as he addresses supporters at a rally in Ohio, saying that he and his family are "making a sacrifice for a very big goal," replacing President Barack Obama.
A strong performance by Romney might have moved more Republicans who had harbored doubts about the ex-governor off the fence, and finally create some sustained momentum for Romney. Still, momentum in the primary has come in fits and starts, threatening to make the Republican campaign into a prolonged battle over delegates.
Santorum expressed optimism as he addressed supporters at a rally in Ohio, saying that he and his family are "making a sacrifice for a very big goal," replacing Obama in the White House.
"They are decimating each other ... independent voters are fleeing him," Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday night on NBC in regard to Romney and the GOP campaign. "I feel good about how things have evolved in the last six months."
While the day boasted more primaries and caucuses than any other in 2012, it was a shadow of Super Tuesday in 2008, when there were 20 Republican contests.
There was another big difference, a trend away from winner-take-all contests to a system of allocating delegates in rough proportion to a candidate's share of the popular vote.
Sen. John McCain won eight states on Super Tuesday in 2008 and lost 12 to Romney and Mike Huckabee combined. But six of McCain's victories were winner-take-all primaries, allowing him to build an insurmountable delegate lead that all but sealed his nomination
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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My wife has voted straight Republican for the last 43 years, But told me the other day there is no way in hell will she ever vote Republican again, in her mind the Democrats have bad policies but not as bad as the Republicans and therefore voting Democratic is the least of the two evils.
Maybe dementia
Sounds more like wisdom with age.
DO NOT MISS VIEWING THIS WEBSITE. IT IS HILARIOUS. SEE LINK BELOW.
What a joke. Less and less of the stupid right wing nuts come out to back lyin Willardo, the Mexican Mormon Moron tax evader and bankrupter and they rave about it. This repuke I hope, will lose in Ohio and it is straight downhill from there.
As most people know, the evangelicals consider the mormons an evil anti-christ cult. The mormons have been converting dead jewish people, without their knowledge to become mormons to enhance their religion. They baptise them when they are dead. These sick aholes were caught when they tried to convert Anne Frank to be a mormon. The Church of the Latter Day Saints has now ordered these mormon priests to cease this immediately.
There is a new website now where you can convert any dead mormon to a homosexual. It works automatically, you just push a button. If you don't know any dead mormons, they will find you one. Now only if they find a way of converting lyin Willardo, the Mexican Mormon Moron tax evader and bankrupter to an honest person.
You can try entering his name on the website, it may work on braindead mormons and braindead morons like most repukes are.
http://alldeadmormonsarenowgay.com/
These repuke dunces best bet is to bring back Herman (9Kampf) Cain, the dress slitherer. He can draft Jerry Sandusky for V.P. Who cares what they have done in the past, they are against abortion, that is all that counts.
CAIN/SANDUSKY 2012. The true repuke family values candidates.
You really know nothing about the Mormons do you? Cain/Sandusky give me a break.
Too funny, if you don't know any dead mormons they will find you one....nearly sprayed scotch all over my screen. What a waste that would have been.
Rhonda:
I know a lot about Mormonism, lived in Provo and a BYU alumni. After I left home some Christan's gave me access to historical documents and a lot of other confirmed facts.
So if you want to give your soul to a false profit that is your business, but if you are as smart as you think you are I would suggested that you do a little fact finding on your own. BY the way I have relatives that date back to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.
I know they are known for polygamy and raping little girls and trying to bring dead people to become mormons. What else do we need to know? They may help poor people but on the other hand, so did Al Capone. And that is what they will be known for. Just as the catholics religion will always be known for the religion that breeds pedophiles all over the world.
So do I. I am related to Joseph Young. We have nothing to do with polygamy. I only baptize MY dead relatives. I am not after the Jewish!
The priests do it Rhonda. Look up how many thousands of jewish people they have done it to without their knowledge. Thus sick church is going to be sued to remove all of these baptisms.
I know what you are talking about, I read the news too. I am just telling you what my family and I do that's all. It is now a sick church. Look at the Catholic Church and all the stuff their Priests do. I can do baptisms and I am not a priest! I don't want to argue about this, these are just MY views not anyone else.
Let's see, vote for Rightous Religious Rick ? How about Hello, I'm a dishrag Mitt ? Then again, there's Hello...I'm greater than God Newt. Oh fudge......maybe I'll vote for Hey, let's turn our backs on the world Ron.
What a crappy time to be a Republican. Hey, wait a minute ......I'm a Democrat. Too bad none of you can see me smiling.
You sound more like a Demoncrap.
Better than a repuke!!
What I find entertaining is that if you go to a blog where people are bashing Obama there are literally hundreds of people on there and then you come to one where they are bashing the republicans and there might be 10 or 20 of you, and no doubt that most of you are duplicates.
Yup...republican PR agencies hard at work.
Why don't they just nominate Torquemada and get it over with.
I really like Ron Paul but he doesn't articulate well. Say if Newt held all of the same positions - then we'd have something. Paul needs his antiwar message to sound less whiny and more presidential.
Why wouldn't you pick the republican who stands the best chance of beating obama. That is only Ron Paul.
Please Ivan - do NOT talk about the amount of money these candidates are spending. Although I can't stand Romney - for me it's ABO. Obama spent nearly ONE BILLION for the last election and will spend close to the same this time around and that was with the media behind him like little puppy dogs.
Politico sez the $1B was combined Mc Cain / Obama spending pls fact check! thanks,
Now wait a minute, another authority just informed of us as follows.... Skup...
Then the amount of money Obama is going to spend to get re-elect will stagger you. 744 million in the last election alone.
#1.3 - Tue Mar 6, 2012 3:58 PM EST
Can anyone just provide a link, and not one posted by Limpaw or Beck?
Ron (Puke) Paul is the lone honest person among the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse. However Ron Paul is braindead. This guy thinks that all muslims are good people, we made them bad. This dunce should spend a night at Guantanamo with his good buddies. The next day when he would come out, his ahole would be so red, that he would not be able to sit on the toilet for a week.
It is time for this anti-regulation fool to pack it in and find a good nursing home, preferably close to Guantanamo. He can preach liberty to the guys in the white coats and turbans that come to take him for his daily walk.
Wake up call about Ron Paul.
Someone has brainwashed the evangelical "Children of the Corn". Complete nuts like Ron Paul spouts off this nonsense about smaller government. He and the other idiots that think his way, want to eliminate all regulatory agencies, as he feels that the people can do things honestly without being regulated- like the republican criminals stealing from the middle class and the poor.
Don't you right wing braindead idiots know why regulations were created in the first place. It all started with the Great Depression of the 20's and 30's where the criminal republican bankers used depositors money to invest in businesses of their friends which were very risky and the stocks of companies that had false balance sheets that said they were making money while they were losing it. When the market crashed, the depositors lost their money as the banks failed. That is why the SEC was created along with the FDIC, to control republican thieves.
As time went on, more agencies like the FDA were created to stop false claims about drugs and other foods being made. Such as Coca Cola being able to cure almost any ailment. The drugs you buy today would probably kill you because there would be no control over ther labeling or their quality.
Now right wing criminals like Mitch McDumbell and Ron Paul want to eliminate the EPA. McDumbell's repuke cronies in KY overlooked over 100 safety violations at a large Massey Coal Mine. The mine exploded killing many miners. The repukes that were bought and paid for by Massey and their boss McDumbell should have been prosecuted. By eliminating the EPA, it makes it easier for Massey and others like them to more easily pollute the air and water, while having extra money saved from non- compliance to donate to McDumbell's campaign.
Massey settled their claims for 200 million about a month ago. It would have only cost them about $3 million to comply with EPA regulations and it would have saved many lives.
So when you idiots say you want to take back the government and do what with it? Give it to those repukes who want no controls so they can rob and steal from you as they did in the past.
Your an idiot the EPA is sucking the life out of America and try thinking for yourself.
What? How is the EPA sucking the life out of America?
Who gives a good @!$%# about elections? They are a complete waste of time. Both parties equal the same thing; World Wars, More Poverty for the Poor, Abortion, high taxes, no more health benefits, end of all government entitlements etecetera. If you vote, you are part of the problem!
Wouldn't it be fun if they just talked about issues that face us all. Try to determine what the common ground is and then move forward.....
Oh wait, what am I thinking........
The only common ground they have is to ban abortion, ban contraception, have biblical fairy tale Creationism taught in all schools and force women to have vaginal ultrasounds.
There is still debate going on among them about banning the use of condoms in this country. The question is does all male sperm have to be used to create babies?
The biggest issue, in my mind, is the right to not have religion shoved down my throat.
It's free entertainment tonight on the boob tube. Which hopeless failure will America support this week?
From "The Economist" - Our great moral decline
Mar 2nd 2012,
21:04 by R.M. | WASHINGTON, DC
"ASKED to explain his support for Rick Santorum in Michigan's primary, voter Sandy Munro said, "Now what we need is a strong political leader to do something to get us out of the moral slump that we’re in."
Mr Santorum would agree, having noted that "Satan has his sights on the United States of America."
As would Mitt Romney, who has attacked the decay caused by Barack Obama's "secular agenda".
Newt Gingrich has gone the furthest, stating, “A country that has been now since 1963 relentlessly in the courts driving God out of public life shouldn’t be surprised at all the problems we have."
But what are these problems? When considering America's moral decline, my first instinct was to look at the crime rate. If Satan is at work in America, he's probably nicking wallets and assaulting old ladies. But over the past several decades the crime rate has fallen dramatically, despite what you may think. The homicide rate has been cut in half since 1991; violent crime and property crime are also way down. Even those pesky kids are committing less crime. There are some caveats to these statistics, as my colleague points out, but I think we can conclude that crime is not the cause of America's moral decline.
So let's look elsewhere. Abortion has returned as a hot-button issue, perhaps it is eating away at our moral fiber. Hmm, the abortion rate declined by 8% between 2000 and 2008.
Increases in divorce and infidelity could be considered indicators of our moral decay. There's just one problem: according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the divorce rate is the lowest it has been since the
early 1970s. This is in part due to the recession, but infidelity is down too.
Other areas that might indicate declining virtue are also going against the perceived trend. For example, charitable giving is up after a decline during the recession.
The teenage pregnancy rate is at its lowest level in 40 years. And according to Education Week, "the nation’s graduation rate stands at 72 percent, the highest level of high school completion in more than two decades." So where is the evidence of this moral decline?
Here's one for the declinists: the number of Americans not affiliated with any religion has increased, while the number of those attending worship services has declined. And here's another: out-of-wedlock births have increased in America so that now at least four in ten children are born to unmarried women. This is something Mr Santorum has focused on during the campaign, and he is right in pointing out that the children of unwed mothers in America tend to do worse in terms of health, schooling and income later in life.
But here's where the real debate over America's moral position comes into focus. As the New York Times
notes, out-of-wedlock births are increasing in much of the developed world—for example, over half of babies in Iceland and Sweden are born to unwed mothers. But according to Wendy Manning, a professor of sociology at Bowling Green State University, "In Sweden, you see very little variation in the outcome of children based on marital status. Everybody does fairly well... In the US, there’s much more disparity."
So out-of-wedlock birth need not correspond to worse outcomes for children. And if it didn't in America, should we still consider out-of-wedlock births a moral problem? One could ask a similar question about religion. While rates of religious participation may be declining in America, young people today have similar moral beliefs as their parents and grandparents. So is the decline in religious observance a moral problem?
When it comes to out-of-wedlock births, the issue is complicated because discouraging these types of the births may be a more efficient way of securing children than the type of nanny-state intervention that can be found in a country like Sweden. But in general, I think the debate over America's moral position comes down to
this: Republicans want the best outcomes based on solutions that fit into preconceived notions of what society should look like. So even if there are few tangible harms that point to our moral decay, any move away from their vision of society is evidence of declining virtue. Democrats, on the other hand, are more concerned with outcomes, even if that means upending the way things were (or accepting that they have been upended and cannot be restored).
So in the case of out-of-wedlock births, Republicans would probably see the increase as a moral problem regardless of the outcome. Whereas Democrats might feel more comfortable with, say, promoting
a corresponding increase in stable familial relationships outside of marriage. It is a dynamic we've seen elsewhere recently, in regard to issues like gay marriage and contraception. And it leads to a debate over what
"moral" really means. If "immoral" means "causing avoidable harm to other people" then gay marriage, pornography, sex, reality TV, soft-drug use and euthanasia are hardly immoral, even if distasteful to some.
But as we grind through the Republican primary process, it seems like the debate over morality in America has
less to do with moral outcomes and more to do with a vision of how society should look based on idealistic remembrances of how things were. So people like Mr Munro and the Republican candidates believe America is in a moral slump. The odd thing is, people on the left might actually agree, though for very different reasons. They are upset by the perceived greed of the 1%, and the broad acceptance of torture and war as foreign-policy tools. In the end, the debate over morality more closely resembles two distinct monologues."
The Economist is a great magazine!
It is funny how the GOP focuses on morality. If given its way, it would prevent abortion. In so doing, and by trying to take the "moral high road," it would go completely against its fundamental argument that there should be less government. While right wingers chirp about how democrats are like socialists or communists, the GOP's attempts to control morality is incredibly FASCIST. Good luck with that.
Not to mention how immoral they are about war.
Think of all of the money spent and wasted on this campaign. What good things we could accomplish with this money. What a waste, grown men spewing utter garbage and hatred.
Caught taking a leak in the land of Hnoz, which is half way to the land of Meh. C/P link in address bar:
msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/gss-cvr-120306-super-tuesday/gss-cvr-120306-super-tuesday-03.grid-6x2.jpg
Repubicans are going to lose if they keep up this constant harangue on social issues. Why aren't they talking about energy, jobs, foreign policy, etc? If they think they can run the country better than President Obama, let's hear some concrete ideas, plans, etc. So far, the GOP nomination process has been ridiculous, a lot of sophomoric debate, clownish behavior.
They aren't talking about that because they have no idea how to fix it.
Think about that. Name a republican president that has ever solved the deficit. Name one republican president that has solved any social issue.
War? Sure, republicans are the best at it. Heck, they will attack anybody, just ask Iraq.
When it comes to domestic issues, all they got is "cut taxes for the rich"!
All but 10% of the money collected from Super Pacs for candidates should be used to pay Americas debts or better yet, Replace ALL Social Security monies taken to pay for other Govt. failures illegally by the Govt. for at least the last decade.
Hey now... Ann Romney is an attractive woman. There hasn't been an attractive first lady in a long time.
And this matters how?
easy Rush.....
She looks like an owl.
Who...Who...
It doesn't matter Troy, but anything beats the classic "Democrats are better than Republicans or is it the Republicans are better than Democrats arguments". Those people are just retarded.
I tend forget that there are also gay people (sorry cowboy) here and my replies might offend them.
On a side note, Life2 is the only one with enough common sense to stay on topic regardless of personal agenda and feelings. Thank you for that and now that you mention it... she does!
Funny video. Bill Maher's take if Jesus was another repuke candidate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udzymvKOyCY&feature=related
Will Mitt be puttin on the Ritz...or will Ricky end up as a VP,(vaginal probe)....or will they all get NEWTERED !!!???...stay tuned...same BAT time ...same BAT channel....
It seems being mainstream is more important than making sense, poor America we are going down the drain, with mitt or Barack as president, I still support Ron Paul no matter what, call him a nut, unpopular, but this guy says what he believes, mitt romney could not even answer a question about birth control, I guess he needs his lawyers before a comment.
The first sentance of this article says eleven states are having naminating contests today. Did they forget how to count?? I only know of ten states. Which one is the eleventh?
The GOP can blame the Tea Party for their defeat after all of the lies about President Obama that they spread around the Internet from him being a Islamist as well as supporter of terrorism. The Tea Party has been the GOP's biggest source of blockade in getting the White House back.
Americans do not want to hear lies and rumors of which the Tea Party generated so feverntly hoping to fill Americans minds with hate for President Obama.
Everyone should give thanks to the Tea Party for creating the lies that Americans saw through that will keep President Obama in Office for four more years.
Lies in one hand or the truth in the other....you decide America....its your fate.
There is no race to reshape. Whoever wins will promote war in the near-east, or they wouldn't be running. Paul is an anomaly easily dealt with by ignoring him.
President Obama has no reason to fear any of his potential Republican challengers. If things go well, he will simply cruise to victory. If, however, the economy goes south or he chooses to engage us in another war, no problem. He simply calls out his "occupy" friends to create havoc in the days leading up to the elections and he declares martial law, thus effectively assuring his tenure as our president. The foregoing statement, although meant partly in jest, is unfortunately a possibility for a man who has no regard for our Constitution, let alone due process. My fellow Americans, if you are given the opportunity, please vote as though your life depends on it, because this time, it probably does.