Hot off the press, it appears Mitt Romney has dropped out of the suspended his race for the Republican presidential nominee. According to CNN:
Mitt Romney suspended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination Thursday, saying if he continued it would “forestall the launch of a national campaign and be making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win.”
“In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror…”
Ignoring his inflammatory, neoconservative reason for dropping out, it’s now a two-person race on both sides.
The only worry I have now is what the lack of Romney will do to bolster Huckabee’s base. It’s common knowledge that McCain represents a fractured Republican base. Will those middle-grounders formerly devoted to Romney now give their state delegates to Huckabee or McCain? It’s up to each state to determine this.
Romney’s exit frees up 286 delegates. If they all go to McCain, his nomination would be locked in with a total of 1,000 delegates out of 1,191. However, if for some reason they go to Huckabee, he’ll have 467, potentially putting him back into the race and perhaps spurring a sturdier and more widespread base.
It’s more probable that McCain has the nomination locked, but we’ll have to stay tuned…