With a Romney win in Obama’s backyard and with his lead in the delegate count mounting, the media drumbeat that “Mr. Inevitability” is back. At least as far as NBC is concerned, the state of Chicago… uh, I mean Illinois… shows that Republicans are starting to come to his side in this primary.
Certainly if Rick Santorum loses Pennsylvania about a month from now, there is no hope for him. But, there are some other primaries in between that will hurt Team Rick just as bad should he lose them. But even if he does win, many cannot see him getting enough delegates to pass Romney.
So, what does that all mean for Romney? Well, one thing about Illinois exit polls seemed to tell us is that those that voted for Romney did so because they thought he was the one that could best defeat Obama in November. This, NBC claims, is why they think the GOP is starting to finally come to Mitt’s side.
Romney’s winning the conservative segment of the electorate is an indication that Republican voters are starting to coalesce behind his candidacy. In the March 6 Ohio primary, only 35 percent of conservatives voted for Romney and in South Carolina primary on Jan. 21 only 24 percent of conservatives backed him.
This coupled with the fact that Mitt has always done better among moderates, NBC now feels that the party is coalescing around Mitt.
So, what do you think? Are we looking at the GOP nominee? Is Mitt Romney finally a winner after 6 long years of seeking the nomination?
March 20th, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Even before Illinois Romney had over a million more votes than the next closest candidate, and more delegates than the rest combined.
I don’t think Illinois shows that Republicans are finally coming to Mitt, because they already have been; but perhaps Illinois is enough for others to finally realize it.
March 21st, 2012 at 3:49 am
I think it was somebody on MSNBC who pointed out that Romney has spent something like $170 for each vote he’s won. I find that number hard to believe, but if you add in the Super PAC spending, it could well be true.
Let us see if Mr. Inevitable can win a primary spending the same or even less than his opponents. Romney better get used to that since he won’t be able to outspend Obama 7-to-1.
March 21st, 2012 at 5:29 am
And Santorum would be outspent even more than he is now by Obama. If he’s going to blame being outspent as the reason he’s losing to Romney, then what is he saying about his chances against Obama.
Are Republicans going to complain about Obama outspending them too all they way to November? Santorum needs to quit making excuses. For why he’s losing.
And I agree with you about that number of $170 per vote he’s won…it’s very hard to believe. He’s won 4 million votes, which would come out too $680 million. Clearly he hasn’t spent anything close to that, even if you count the super PACs.