They want Santorum to win in the worst way, so this thing is definitely still up for grabs.
Illinois is wide open.
Since we vote by congressional district, Romney could have a 60/40 advantage in a Chicago district and win their delegates, and then Santorum could have just a 51-49 advantage in the suburbs or downstate and win their delegates.
Every district is different. Hearing 41-32-etc. isn’t helpful in a state like Illinois. It’s not proportional, in terms of allocating delegates based on percentages.
Delegates (and the alternates too) run to represent their congressional districts.
Incidentally, regarding the claim that Democrats are meddling... oh yes, dems meddle all the time, but they’re more likely to vote for Romney as the moderate they can more easily beat.
The few remaining dems who cross over to vote for Rick are usually doing so because they agree with him on some major issue, so they would be with him in November.
Tell us again how well Republicans crossing over to vote for Obama in the Dem primary worked out. Those stunts have a history of backfiring.
Now why would Democrats want Santorum to win a GOP primary? (/sarc)
Santorum’s appeal to Democrats - while there may be some mischief makers among the Dems, I think most of the Democrat votes gotten by Santorum have been from blue collar or lunch-bucket type Democrats, who are attracted to the social conservative message, but who have problems with a corporate-type guy like Romney.
In any case, this is one heckuva cage match for the Republican nomination, and it’s anything goes. If Santoum’s edge is getting Democrats to vote for him, so as to be able to run against him in the fall, more power to him.
Romney will undoubtedly win in Chicago and, if these polls bear out, in the suburban ring area as well. Santorum many win in the rural areas, but how many Congressional Districts in the state are dominated by rural areas? Maybe a handful. And, one of them is Romney’s by default since Santorum has no delegates in that district.
The statewide delegates will be meted out in proportion to the statewide vote.
Therefore, Romney has a chance of fetching two-thirds or so of the state’s sizable number of delegates, with Santorum getting the remainder.
Such a result would move Romney further along to the nomination; but, not like Patton sweeping across Europe, more like Grant advancing on Richmond.
Right as of now, Santorum has absolutely no chance of being the “presumptive nominee” of the party. He would need a miracle to defeat Romney in Illinois; and, even if he got that miracle, and put into jeopardy Romney’s chance of becoming the presumptive nominee when the June 6 states hold their primaries, Santorum would still have no chance of becoming the presumptive nominee himself.
Santorum is now saying that a “brokered convention” wouldn’t be so bad for the party. I’d agree, if that meant somebody like David Petraus could be coaxed into seeking the party’s nomination, assuming Petraus is with us on economic policy, which is not to say that we should double down on Afghanistan as Santorum seems to have said. But, the insiders think Jeb Bush would emerge with the nomination from out of a brokered convention. Is this what Santorum wants?
Is Santorum merely a stalking horse for a third Bush administration?
That’s a bunch of BS peddled by the Romney bots !
Romney and Paul have the Dems voting for them in all open primaries lime Iowa and NH .
Romney bots started that lie in MI as cover of mittens lost.
That's been proven false about a dozen times already. Romney talking points.