Super Tuesday Winners and Losers

Winners:

Senator John McCain: Make no mistake, the Senator from Arizona will be the Republican nominee for President. He didn’t dominate on Tuesday, but he didn’t need to. He won the states he needed to win and pulled off some key wins in states like Missouri and New York. However, Senator McCain has plenty of work ahead of him. First and foremost he has the daunting task of uniting a Republican Party, mainly; convincing conservative voters that they can trust him and that he is one of them. If he can’t do that, then the election in November is just a formality for Democrats. The only drama left for Republicans is the aforementioned McCain vs. Conservatives drama and the choosing of a Vice Presidential candidate.

VP Candidate front runners: Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Florida Governor Charlie Crist.
Darkhorse: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour

Governor Mike Huckabee: Look, he doesn’t have much of a chance of beating McCain, but the former Governor from Arkansas has run an admirable campaign on a shoe string budget. Congrats go out to Tennessean Chip Saltsman, Huckabee’s campaign manager, for an excellent job managing Huckabee’s campaign. Governor Huckabee is a staunch social conservative that proved he could win in the South, which bolds well for him when Senator McCain is looking for a running mate. Watch out for Huckabee’s tax and spend record, illegal immigration stance, and his pardon and commutation record as Governor of Arkansas, it could come back to haunt him when McCain is choosing his VP running mate.

Losers:

Mitt Romney: The former Governor of Massachusetts didn’t fare well on Tuesday. He won Massachusetts, Utah and some smaller, somewhat insignificant, caucus states. Many conservative leaders rallied around Romney before Super Tuesday but it was too little, too late. Romney looked the part; I just don’t think he connected with voters. You can look good, sound good and say all the right things, but in the end, it comes down to connecting with people. Romney didn’t do it.

Romney’s speech to the CPAC on Wednesday though, was by far, the best speech any Republican Presidential Candidate has given to date. He spoke with conviction, with strength and with passion on a broad spectrum of issues. Unfortunately for him, that same speech announced the suspension of his campaign. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Mitt Romney. If he doesn’t surface as a VP candidate, look for him again in 2012.