DENVER—Colorado advanced its caucuses by a month in this election cycle in hopes of having a bigger say in the presidential nomination, but analysts say Mitt Romney may have unstoppable momentum in the GOP race by the time Feb. 7 rolls around.
The Denver Post reported Sunday ( ) that some of Romney’s opponents may have dropped out by then.
“If he wins South Carolina, he’ll be in a very strong position,” said former Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams, who hasn’t endorsed a candidate. “At that point, I’d be more inclined to throw my support behind Romney and head into the general election.”
The South Carolina primary is Saturday.
Eric Sondermann, chairman of a Denver media consulting firm, says the Colorado caucuses will matter only if something dramatic happens in South Carolina or Florida.
South Carolina has seen drama in the past.
Twelve years ago, John McCain faced smear campaigns in South Carolina and lost that primary after a decisive victory in New Hampshire.
State Republican Chairman Ryan Call insisted Colorado will have a say.
“This is a long campaign, and by the time Colorado’s caucus gets here, only 5 percent of the delegates will have been allotted,” said Call, who has not endorsed a candidate.
He said he has heard from various campaigns that plan to be run vigorous campaigns in Colorado.
Even though Romney won’t have locked up enough votes for the nomination by Feb. 7, his nomination could be almost inevitable by then, said Nathan L. Gonzales, deputy editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report in Washington, D.C.
“Though it’s true Romney isn’t going to be able to officially wrap up the nomination before Colorado, he could be the de facto nominee when the state’s caucus arrives,” Gonzales said
When Colorado’s contest rolled around in 2008, it was essentially a two-person race between Romney and McCain.
Romney won by about 40 percentage points in Colorado but lost the nomination to McCain.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, already has support from a number of Colorado GOP leaders, including Attorney General John Suthers, former Gov. Bill Owens, Secretary of State Scott Gessler and House Speaker Frank McNulty.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
