The Latest Updates

02/6/2008, 9:00 am -- by | No Comments

–Updated delegate count: McCain 615, Romney 268, Huckabee 169, Paul 16

–9:15 am: So the next morning, it looks like just about what I pessimistically predicted 10 days ago. I gave Huckabee victories in the South — Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas — although I also gave him Missouri. Romney won all the states I projected him to, with the addition of Minnesota. And McCain did precisely what I thought he would, trading Minnesota for Missouri. 9 states for John, 6 for Mitt, 5 for Mike. Not sure why the media seemed so shocked by that showing for Huckabee.

It’s safe to conclude John McCain will be the nominee now, barring some health crisis or monumental gaffe. I can’t imagine he will be foolish enough to select Huckabee as his vice-president; if Clinton is the nominee, he won’t need any help in the South, and if Obama is the nominee, he’ll have bigger problems. Romney would be a better choice, since he would placate conservatives, and his strength on the economy is complementary to McCain’s, but that’s also quite unlikely. McCain holds grudges, and he certainly seems to loathe Romney.

At this point, the most important decision to the prospects of the Republican party in November is the one being made by Democrats. If I lived in a state with an open primary, I’d be sorely tempted to vote Hillary.

I’m nearly ready to start talking myself into supporting John McCain. *sigh*

–Called states: CT, IL, NJ, AZ, DE, NY, OK, MO, CA (McCain); MA, UT, ND, MN, MT, CO, AK(Romney); AR, WV, AL, GA, TN (Huckabee)

–12:20 am: CA called for McCain. That’ll do it for me tonight. The delegate count below includes only the states that have already been allocated, and will certainly change as each state’s slate is determined.

–12:15 am: McCain wins Missouri and leads 44-25 in CA with 15% in.

Continued here!