Now that all those second-class primaries and Mickey Mouse caucuses are out of the way, we can turn our attention to the biggest and brightest stage in the 2012 Republican presidential primary – Super Tuesday.
You may ask yourselves: what the hell is Super Tuesday?
While Tuesday, March 6, may be like any other day of the week for some Americans – filled with episodes of “NCIS,” “Cougar Town” and “I Hate My Teenage Daughter” – Super Tuesday offers a breath of fresh air in an otherwise mundane television schedule.
On Tuesday, all eyes turn to the polls and the 437 delegates up for grabs in 10 different states. That’s right, with only 1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination, Super Tuesday offers up over a third of the total delegates necessary.
Ten states will take part in the affair, including Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. But the biggest delegate prizes are found in Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney cruised to a landslide in the Arizona primary and earned a delegate tie in Michigan against former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in this week’s saga. Romney won the popular vote in Michigan but split congressional districts, with ABC News projecting 15 delegates each for Romney and Santorum.
Immediately following this outcome, both politicians turned their attention to the delegate-rich Super Tuesday contests. Although Georgia has more delegates up for grabs, Ohio mirrors the national electorate and is historically a swing state in the general election.
Romney roared into Ohio on Wednesday, appropriately dubbed “The Heart of it All,” holding events in Toledo and the small Columbus suburb of Bexley. Meanwhile, Santorum turned his attention to Tennessee, speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of about 1,000 at Temple Baptist Church in the Knoxville suburb of Powell.
Santorum’s spokesman, Hogan Gidley, said the former Pennsylvania senator raised $9 million in February for his candidacy, so look for an aggressive ad campaign in those key states mentioned.
Romney and Santorum both began churning out ads in Ohio long before the contest’s arrival. Television advertising has already topped $4 million in the state, a total which includes not only the two leading contenders but also the super PACs that support them.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his super PAC, “Winning Our Future,” have spent upwards of $800,000 placing radio ads in Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
Although Gingrich skipped Tuesday’s contests in Arizona and Michigan, he will undoubtedly make a splash in southern states, most notably in Georgia, where he launched his political career 30 years ago.
Romney is all but assured victories in at least two of next Tuesday’s states — Massachusetts, where he was governor and faces little competition in the primary, and Virginia, where neither Gingrich nor Santorum qualified for the ballot.
Not to be forgotten, Ron Paul will be a factor in Tuesday’s delegate count, especially in caucus states like Alaska, Idaho and North Dakota. He also appears to be contesting Romney in Vermont and has already planned a weekend trip to Alaska in hopes of gaining his first victory of the year in the state’s caucuses.
All Super Tuesday states award their delegates proportionally, so the contest will be split either way you look at it.
The Ohio and Michigan races are similar, but don’t expect Romney to carry the Catholic vote that he did in Michigan. Santorum is well aware he let that slip, and I’m certain he won’t lose that vote again.
Gingrich will most likely take his home state of Georgia, but look for him to play a role in Tennessee and Oklahoma as well.
Look for Romney’s momentum to give him the upper hand in Ohio, but it will be close with Santorum.
Oklahoma and Tennessee will be tough contests, but expect Santorum to capture the many socially conservative voters in those states, followed closely by Gingrich.
The race for the nomination is still anybody’s for the taking, but come Tuesday we will have a much clearer picture of this muddled mess.
 
Matthew Westfall is a 23-year-old mass communication senior from Winchester, Va. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_mwestfall.
 
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Contact Matthew Westfall at [email protected]