The Republican presidential nominating fight may be far from over. The majority of states have yet to cast their ballots for the Republican candidate, and the race could end up being extremely close, with no clear winner emerging until much later in the primary season.
There are multiple candidates still actively campaigning, and most of them have yet to drop out of the race. Additionally, Super Tuesday, when the largest number of states vote, is still several weeks away. As of now, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is in the lead, but no candidate has been able to secure a majority of delegates and lock down the nomination.
One reason the battle for the Republican nomination is far from being over is that there is still a deep division within the party itself. Many of the more conservative wing of the party supports Texas Representative Ron Paul, while the more moderate and pragmatic faction of the GOP prefers candidates like Romney and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
Another factor contributing to the lack of a clear nominee is the fact that most of the states that have voted so far have rules that make it very difficult for any candidate to get a majority of delegates in those states. For example, in Michigan, Romney won the popular vote but ended up with 15 fewer delegates than was available.
In addition, several of the states that have voted so far are “winner-take-all” states, meaning that the winner of the popular vote in those states gets all the delegates from that state. This means that even if one candidate has a majority of support nationally, they can still lose a large portion of the total available delegates.
The fight for the Republican presidential nomination is far from over, and it’s likely that it won’t be decided until much later on in the primary season. With many important upcoming contests, the outcome of the race could be drastically different than it looks right now. We may not know who will eventually be the Republican nominee until the summer.