Romney Challengers Reject Calls to Give Up
Mitt Romney’s campaign tried Wednesday to put the best possible spin on Super Tuesday’s mixed verdict, releasing a memo arguing that it is now nearly impossible for his opponents to catch him in the Republican presidential race.
“Super Tuesday dramatically reduced the likelihood that any of Gov. Romney’s opponents can obtain the Republican nomination,” said Rich Beeson, the campaign’s political director. “As Gov. Romney’s opponents attempt to ignore the basic principles of math, the only person’s odds of winning they are increasing are President Obama’s.”
According to CNN’s latest count, Romney now has 429 delegates, compared with 169 for Rick Santorum, 118 for Newt Gingrich and 67 for Texas Rep. Ron Paul. A candidate needs 1,144 delegates at the Republican convention this summer to secure the nomination to face President Barack Obama in November.
Romney also expressed confidence, telling CNBC on Wednesday that “we’ve got the time and resources and a plan to get all the delegates.”
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“We think that will get done before the convention,” Romney said. “One thing I can tell you for sure is there’s not going to be a brokered convention where some new person comes in and becomes the nominee. It’s going to be one of the four people that are still running.”
None of Romney’s opponents “succeeded in closing (the) delegate deficit” Tuesday, and “the calendar ahead offers them dwindling opportunities to close the gap,” Beeson said. He called Super Tuesday a “one-time opportunity” to reshape the race.