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E-mail from Newt's National Director Titans, which you likely already get, but thought interesting how NEWT was maneuvering...

As a key supporter of our campaign, I wanted to make sure you were armed with the correct numbers from the Republican National Committee - and not the spin from the DC Establishment who are trying to prematurely end the race for the Republican nomination.

Here are two quick things to keep in mind.

First, the magic number of delegates to secure the nomination is 1,144 and no candidate is remotely close to that number. In fact, nearly two-thirds of all delegates will come from states that haven't voted yet.

Second, there is an important distinction between bound and unbound delegates. Most media outlets are reporting estimates or projections which include unbound delegates from various beauty contests.

What only matters at this point is the number of bound delegates. According to the Republican National Committee, here's the official breakdown:

Romney - 339 delegates
Gingrich - 107 delegates
Santorum - 95 delegates
Paul - 22 delegates

As you can see, Newt is currently in second place. Many of Senator Santorum’s victories came in states whose delegates will not be selected until much later in the process. For this reason,.... ..NEWT WASN'T EXPENDING A LOT OF TIME OR RESOURCES IN THESE STATES, CHOOSING INSTEAD TO FOCUS ON STATES WITH BOUND DELEGATES......THAT SRATEGY HAS NOW BEEN VALIDATED BY THE OFFICIAL RNC DELEGATE COUNT......

Keep in mind, this breakdown doesn't take into account the fact that the challenge to the “winner take all” awarding of delegates from both Florida and Arizona - which won't be decided until this summer's convention - could reduce Governor Romney's delegate advantage dramatically.

Here's a story from the Washington Times which outlines the delegate math in greater detail, and shows that Newt is actually in second place.

Simply put, Newt is in the race for the long haul. Thank you for your generous support and for standing with Newt's campaign.

Sincerely,

Martin Baker
National Political Director
Newt 2012