” Huckabee and Thompson are largely competing for the same votes.”
Lets assume that Romney loses in MI. Look at Romney and you have a guy who SAYS all the right conservative things. Those conservatives who don’t like him are conservatives who don’t BELIEVE him because of his past actions and statements. Those Romney supporters in SC(and all the other states) are that because they DO believe him. Now Huck supporters in SC are for him not because he is a con but because he is a evangelical. His qualities aren’t going to attrack ex Romney supporters. McCain is seen as unreliably conservative, these qualities aren’t going to attract Romney supporters either or they would have already. These Romney voters who may see their candidate as down and out after MI are the votes available for the other candidates to pick up and they are there for Thompson to pick up. Not McCain, not Huckabee, and not Giuliani. Same goes for the rest of the south.