Mitt Romney prevailed among ground voters, winning 6 states on Super Tuesday. In the swing state of Ohio, after Romney failed to attract strong support from tea party conservatives and evangelical conservatives, he narrowly beat Rick Santorum with 38 percent to 37 percent. Ari Fleischer, a CNN contributor who was the press secretary for George W. Bush, said, “He still has a problem with the base. That base problem may make him attractive to independents if he gets to a general” election, but they work against the former Massachusetts governor in the primary season.
At stake on Super Tuesday were 10 states. Romney won 6, which include Ohio, Idaho, Vermont, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Alaska. Santorum took North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Newt Gingrich won his crucial state of Georgia, while Texas Representative Ron Paul failed to win any of the states. Super Tuesday also put up 419 delegates. To win the GOP nomination, the Republican presidential candidate must have 1,144 delegates. CNN estimated that thus far, Romney has collected 404 delegates, Santorum has 165, Gingrich has 106, and Paul has 66. The Kansas caucuses will be held on Saturday, Mar. 10.
