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Washington: Republicans appeared headed for a long bruising fight to pick up
their nominee to challenge President Barack Obama in November with
rivals sharing the spoils in Super Tuesday primaries in ten
states.
Front runners former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former
senator Rick Santorum will each win three states, while former
House speaker Newt Gingrich grabbed a vital triumph in Georgia,
CNN projected as countingcontinued late Tuesday night.
Santorum's victories in Tennessee and Oklahoma primaries, and in
North Dakota's caucuses showed his continuing strength among
conservative voters, while Gingrich's win in the state that sent
him to Congress allows him to keep his campaign going.
"It looks we're going to get at least a couple of gold medals, and
a whole passel full of silver medals," Santorum told cheering
supporters in Ohio, where he was running slightly ahead of Romney
in a race too close to call.
Romney, meanwhile, easily won as expected in Virginia, Vermont and
Massachusetts, the state where he served as governor and considers
home.
For Gingrich, who represented Georgia's sixth congressional
district for two decades, the victory provided a new boost after a
string of defeats since his only other primary triumph in South
Carolina.
"Thank you Georgia! It is gratifying to win my home state so
decisively to launch our March Momentum," Gingrich said Tuesday
night in a Twitter post.
Romney entered Super Tuesday off of three wins last week and a
growing lead in the delegate count toward the 1,144 needed to
secure the nomination to face Obama in November.
Tuesday was the biggest single day of the primary season, and
included showdowns in several states that will determine the
ability of Santorum, Gingrich and Paul to blunt Romney's momentum
toward what many believe will be his inevitable nomination.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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