Analysis: McCain bids for unstoppable lead, Romney tries to stay alive
WASHINGTON -- John McCain hoped to seal the deal. Mitt Romney wanted to stay alive.
Either outcome was possible.
Super Tuesday's coast-to-coast voting promised either to cap a turbulent yearlong campaign for the Republican presidential nomination by giving McCain enough convention delegates to make him unstoppable or to stretch out the bruising race for weeks by putting Romney within reach of his chief rival's total.
Early results pointed to competitive races across the country, with both contenders racking up wins in states considered their strongholds. Another candidate, Mike Huckabee, sought to stay relevant -- and wedge out Romney -- with strong showings in the South.
"I've got to say that Mitt Romney was right about one thing -- this is a two man race. He was just wrong about who the other man in the race was. It's me, not him," Huckabee told The Associated Press, emboldened by wins in West Virginia, Alabama and Arkansas.
McCain led among Republicans who called themselves moderates, while Romney had an edge among Republicans who said they are conservatives. The two tied among self-described Republicans while McCain had the advantage among independents who voted in GOP primaries, according to preliminary results of exit polling in 16 states for the AP and television networks.
On candidate qualities, McCain got strong support from people valuing experience, leadership and the ability to beat Democrats in a general election, while Romney dominated among people looking for a candidate who shared their values and those wanting a hard line against illegal immigrants.
Four Republicans were fighting Tuesday for more than 1,000 delegates at stake in primaries and caucuses in 21 states. But it was McCain and Romney who were best positioned to win the 1,191 delegates needed to secure the nomination. Going into Tuesday's voting, McCain narrowly led Romney in the delegate race, 102 to 93.
McCain, the Arizona senator and Vietnam prisoner of war, wanted to end the contest and seize the party prize that eluded him in his first presidential bid eight years ago. With his main rival ceding the Northeast, McCain tasted victory in delegate-rich winner-take-all New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Connecticut. He also won Illinois and Oklahoma, with the same result expected in his home state of Arizona.
He had a jolt of momentum behind him after his once-crippled candidacy rebounded last month to string together a series of wins in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. But, with a reputation for bucking the party, McCain faced intense resistance from high-profile conservative radio hosts with large audiences among the GOP rank-and-file.
"I am convinced Senator McCain is not a conservative, and in fact has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are," James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, said Tuesday in a statement to a conservative talk show host who read it on the air. He said he would not vote for McCain "as a matter of conscience," and described McCain as someone with a "legendary temper" who "often uses foul and obscene language." Dobson said he would sit out the general election if McCain was the GOP nominee.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and business executive, previously won in hard-fought Michigan, his native state, as well as scarcely contested Nevada, Wyoming and Maine. He was out to prove he could win a hotly contested state where he didn't have generational links and hoped to grab enough delegates to keep him competitive with McCain heading into the next round of contests Feb. 9 in Louisiana and Kansas, and Feb. 12 in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Romney was counting on benefiting from conservative backlash against McCain, and looked to pick off delegates in big-prize California as well as win in Western caucus states to cobble together enough victories to continue his bid. He won Utah, with its heavy Mormon population, and triumphed in Massachusetts.
The history-making possibilities were high. McCain, age 71, would be the country's oldest first-term president when inaugurated, while Romney would be the nation's first Mormon president.
Two other candidates had the potential to be spoilers.
Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and one-time Southern Baptist preacher, threatened to siphon conservative votes from Romney, particularly in Southern states, while Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman, was positioned to a lesser degree to do the same to McCain, who draws his support from across the political spectrum.
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