Romney Has More Delegates Than Santorum, Gingrich, Paul Combined
Romney easily has more delegates than all of his opponents combined.
Underscoring Doug’s conclusion that Mitt Romney’s big win in Illinois means the race is almost over, it’s worth noting that, despite the illusion of a close contest created by Santorum and Gingrich winning several states, the truth of the matter is that Romney easily has more delegates than all of his opponents combined.
According to RealClearPolitics, the numbers are:
- Romney 560
- Santorum 246
- Gingrich 141
- Paul 66
Thus, Romney has 107 more delegates than the other three put together–by a factor of 24 percent. Put another way, if the percentage trends hold up, not only will Romney reach the magic number of 1144 and end speculation about a brokered convention but, even if he were to somehow fall short, there’s no way any of the others could band together and steal the nomination without some Romney delegates crossing over.
To be sure, Romney would prefer to have this officially wrapped up by having all the others drop out of the race. That’s what customarily happens. But, as Joe Trippi has noted, the presence of SuperPAC money means that Gingrich and Santorum have been able to hang on long after they would have in previous cycles, since they don’t have to rely on the ability to fundraise.
