Posted on 04/08/2012 2:58:48 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Mitt Romney holds a solid lead in delegates over his competitors for the GOP presidential nomination, according to a new count from the Republican National Committee.
Wins this week by Romney in three primaries pushed him past the halfway mark in the delegate count, although his nearest competitor, Rick Santorum, contests the way the delegates are being awarded.
Romney leads all contenders with 573 delegates, more than double his closest rival, Santorum's 202, out of a total 1,144, according to the RNC.
Newt Gingrich, who has dialed back his campaign to making phone calls to delegates, has 132 while Ron Paul has 26 by the RNC count.
The RNC said the numbers "do not reflect any potential delegate disputes and this information may change based on the results that come in after the initial vote that may affect the delegate count."
The delegate count is based on information provided to the RNC by each state party which has held a presidential primary, caucus or convention to date where delegates were bound or delegates have publicly endorsed a candidate.
The Associated Press count, which is cited by most media outlets, gives Romney 660 delegates, compared with Santorum's 281. Gingrich and Paul trail with 135 and 51, respectively.
The other candidates' numbers are exactly what is being reported by Green Papers. If you use ALL "Green Papers" numbers, and report their total for Mitt - he has 536 NOT 573. The RNC seems very "selective" in their delegate counting. The AP sources have reliably used "soft" delegate totals for Mitt and Rick and "hard" totals for Newt and Paul (finger on the scale imagery to diminish Newt and Paul).
Newt Gingrich is being interrogated this morning by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. It should be interesting.
For example, the committee agrees that some states that went for Romney jumped the line in the primary schedule, a violation of party rules. But RNC defenders shrug off other complaints, like that they undercut Santorum and Gingrich by formatting a delegate tracking list to pad Romney’s tally, by forming a fundraising alliance this week with Romney and by highlighting a rule that would block an unlikely path to the nomination for Gingrich.
And it’s possible they’ll be other clashes in the coming weeks, with the RNC signaling Thursday its opposition to a push by Santorum backers in Texas to alter the rules surrounding that state’s May 29 primary to help the former Pennsylvania Senator.
Critics of the RNC’s handling of the primary are so sensitive to signs that the committee may be pulling for Romney that they’ve even detected evidence of favoritism in the staff ties between his campaign and the RNC — though some concede such speculation veers more toward conspiracy theory than legitimate concern.”….
AND though there are going to be some “winner take all” primaries, the following contests are also on the schedule:
RI (16) proportional
NY (92) proportional
WVA (28) proportional -- elect delegates (who list their presidential pick on ballot)
NC (52) proportional
OR (25) proportional
AK (33) proportional
KY (42) proportional
TX (155) proportional
CA (169) proportional (by district)
NM (20) proportional
SD (25) proportional
There there are the Contested delegates: …. “delegates have to be "uncontested" in order to count. The frontrunner's rivals argue some of the states that awarded Romney all of their delegates violated Republican National Committee rules when they moved their contests ahead of April 1 and therefore should distribute delegates proportionally. This dispute, if it continues, would not be ruled on until the August convention in Tampa.
"All the media counts right now give him all of Florida, which is against the rules, all of Arizona, which is against the rules, and all of Idaho," Gingrich said Monday. "Those are all three proportional states and they should only be counting his share. So he has to win 1,144 uncontested delegates."
FL: 50 delegates
ID: 32 delegates
AZ: 29 delegates
____________________________
Jan 30, 2012 "So the winner on Tuesday gets all of Florida’s 50 delegates to the GOP convention, right? It says so right in the Republican Party of Florida primary rules.
Eh . . . probably. You see, the Republican National Committee wanted the primary season to start later (that didn’t work out so well) and they wanted the early states to award their delegates proportionally. But those rules came about under Chairman Michael Steele; by the time Florida set its date, Reince Priebus was running the show, and the RNC approved the current winner-takes-all system. The Florida GOP says it’s a non-issue; the current RNC leadership has signed off on the winner-take-all system.
The Tampa Bay Times’s Adam Smith reports, “All it takes is a registered Florida Republican to file a protest with the RNC, and the party’s contest committee would have to consider the issue when it meets in August just before the convention.”
The party’s primary rules were intended to encourage a longer primary season, while ensuring that four smaller states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina — hold the first contests. Only those states were permitted to hold primaries or caucuses before March 6, the RNC decreed, while any state that held a contest prior to April 1 would award its delegates proportionally. Under the rules, any party that violated the sanctioned calendar would lose half its delegates and potentially face further penalties.
Republican leaders in Florida, determined to give the state a big say in picking the nominee, decided having their delegation slashed from 99 to 50 was worth it and set Florida’s primary for Jan. 31. The RNC has said Florida will be a winner-take-all primary, but that decision is still subject to challenge.
If tomorrow’s results are in line with recent polls, Mitt Romney will win 50 delegates and everyone else will win none. (Thus, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul spent a limited amount of time and resources in Florida.) But if it were proportional, Romney would win about 20-25, Gingrich would win about 14-16, Santorum would win about 5-7, and Paul would win 5-6.
In other words, Newt Gingrich may have enormous incentive to file protests and perhaps even legal challenges to the RNC to make Florida allocate its delegates proportionally."
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State by state math HERE
Chris still the throes of his "man-crush" (his term) on Romney? ;-)
I devoutly hope Gingrich is in top form!
As Romney's surrogate, Chris will preform a loyal anti-Newt interview.
I devoutly hope Gingrich is in top form!
You can pretty much count on it, though Chris will turn on the "I am a tough interviewer" pressure and interrupt -- I wonder if he'll use some nasty term like "flake?"
Thank you for the LINK.
No matter how hard the RNC and MSM labor to spin the GOP Primary race, the delegate “count” at this point (as are false “it’s sewn up for Mitt” headlines) is little more than political smoke and mirrors designed to direct nomination wind at Mitt’s back.
Casablanca:
Here in Boston Chris Wallace used to appear on the Howie Carr radio talk show every Friday.During one of Chris Wallace's first appearances he said that he thought that Massachusetts governor, Wilber Mitt Romney, was " a very attractive man". Howie Carr kept playing it and added that Chris Wallace had a " man crush" on Romney.
Chris Wallace took umbrage and finally backed out of the Friday appearances.
I wish I remembered the episode better, but IIRC the "topic" went on for several minutes, Howie ragging Chris, and Chris asking, "Haven't you ever had a man-crush on anyone?" (Howie hadn't.)
Of course, this was before Howie jumped in the satchel for Mitt, almost as if he had been "bought" [wink, wink].
Seems more like the way Democrats operate.
They can always find a way - regardless of the rules - to reach their desired outcome.
The so-called RULES appear to be malleable and quite fluid depending on various exegencies and scenarios.
Let’s face it, the system is a total MESS.
But this complaint, while valid, fails to cover the big picture, which is even worse...TWO THIRDS OF GOP RANK-AND- FILE DO NOT WANT MITT ROMNEY.
And the GOP E couldn’t care less.
The GOP just isn’t going to be able to ridicule, intimidate, and harass enough people to push Romney over the top. He’s just been too insulting and nasty toward conservatives for it to happen.
rnc... dnc... one letter is the only difference!
HAPPY EASTER all and GOD bless!
LLS
Agree LLS.
Letters “nc” are the problem.
...little more than political smoke and mirrors designed to direct nomination wind at Mitt’s back.
****
Yep, they are going to stick us with Mitt McDole, no matter how loudly we scream. So sick of it.
I really sense the possibility of a third party forming come 2016, that is if Obamugabe has not suspended elections before then.
...”TWO THIRDS OF GOP RANK-AND- FILE DO NOT WANT MITT ROMNEY....”
...................
That is true of the popular vote so far but the problem is the Rank-and-File appear to want the other three choices even less.... So apparently there isn’t anyone out there yet that holds a commanding positive position amongst the Rank-and-File....
Popular vote against each candidate:
60% — Gingrich
72% — Santorum
80% — Gingrich
90% — Paul
nc=Naturally Corrupt
Romney’s candidacy is a scam of inconceivable magnitude.
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