Two things are becoming clear as the Republican presidential primary slogs on: The party faithful in Colorado may get a second bite at the apple, and things are lining up nicely for President Barack Obama.
Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were locked a close battle for the Buckeye state on Tuesday night, which is likely a harbinger of where the nomination is headed in general.
Any Super Tuesday hopes that the former Massachusetts governor would dispatch with his conservative challengers were dispelled early on.
Newt Gingrich won his home state of Georgia handily.
Romney notched expected wins in his home state as well as Virginia, Vermont and Idaho. And Ohio, the night’s big prize, appeared to be headed in his direction.
Meanwhile, Santorum’s campaign was buoyed by victories in Tennessee, Oklahoma and North Dakota.
It’s clear that GOP voters — particularly evangelicals and those from rural areas — are not sold on Romney’s inevitability argument.
Santorum regained some of the momentum gained after surprising wins in the (non-binding) contests in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota last month.
And the race continues, which may not bode well for the party.
“Republicans have reached a point where they’re largely tired of Republican-on-Republican violence and are eager for a point at which a Republican nominee is making the case against President Obama rather than amplifying pretty minor differences between ourselves,” former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie told USA Today.
Tuesday’s results make clear that Republicans will have to tolerate more of the intra-party combat.
And while some would argue that a contentious primary didn’t harm Obama in 2008, his opponent was dragging him toward the center. Romney and the Republicans are veering to the right.
Recent polls are showing that in doing so, the party is losing ground with three constituencies — unaffiliated voters, women and Latinos — whose support will be key in the battleground states like Colorado come November.
Colorado Republicans may have a chance to help right the ship.
The state’s GOP caucuses held in February were non-binding on delegate selection. That means that if the party’s nomination fight carries into April, as now seems likely, Colorado’s 36 delegates will be up for grabs.
And it’s a situation that bears watching.
Despite Santorum’s win in the Colorado caucus straw polls, Romney, with organized support among the state’s party establishment and big money to spend in a fight for delegates, may be in the best position to capture them.
We continue to believe that Romney gives the party its best chance to win in November. But the longer he is forced to fight on both his left and right flanks, the less likely Republicans are to capitalize on that opportunity.
