Ah, so we meet again.
It’s been nearly a month since we’ve been enveloped in the anxiety-driven realm of political debate. Honestly, I grew accustomed to the daily character assassination and belittlement that has marked the 2012 GOP primary contest.
After a frantic 19-day stretch in January, which saw six debates, the Republican candidates and their caravans took to the streets for 27 days in states like Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri and Maine.
Much has happened since the candidates split following their Jan. 26 debate in Jacksonville, Fla.
Former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney won big in Florida and Nevada, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who had just scored a significant victory in South Carolina, faded quickly.
Romney won the ultra-low- turnout Maine caucuses, but former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum surged in state and national polling after sweeping the Feb. 7 contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.
Wednesday night marked the return of the firestorm, and the stakes couldn’t get any higher.
Wednesday night’s debate in Mesa, Ariz., wasn’t solely significant because of the month-long absence of a single debate, but more so because it’s the last one before Super Tuesday.
Super Tuesday, the March 6 mega-battle, involves contests in Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.
Sure, the Arizona and Michigan primaries are important and will yield a total of 59 delegates, but Super Tuesday is in a league of its own, yielding a whopping 437 delegates.
These numbers only add to the importance of Wednesday night’s showdown. To win the nomination, 1,144 delegates are needed. Going into next week’s primaries, the estimated delegate count is: Romney, 105; Santorum, 71; Gingrich, 29; and Ron Paul, 18, according to The New York Times.
Romney and Santorum are now essentially tied in favorability polling among Republicans, but the most striking trend is Santorum’s rise from 48 percent in early January to 61 percent last week, according to ABC news. This statistic exemplifies the emergence of Santorum as the latest anti-Romney candidate, following Gingrich’s surge after the South Carolina primary.
All of the momentum was in Santorum’s favor going into Wednesday night’s debate, but in many instances Santorum failed to capitalize.
Gone are the times of Santorum hovering at five percent and providing only sound bites for fodder in the Republican contest. This debate provided the first real challenge for Santorum to take center stage and keep the momentum in his corner. At times, Santorum seemed to fumble on his own words in defense of his past statements.
Taking center stage proved to be a bigger challenge than Santorum was ready for, as the former senator proved to be a little too angry-man at times, coming off flustered and caught off guard.
While Santorum appeared rattled, Romney came out aggressive and ready to pounce on the latest candidate to assume the frontrunner status.
Gingrich and Paul showed up, but that’s about all they did, as Romney and Santorum clearly owned the stage and audience’s emotions.
It’s yet to be determined how the debate will shape the primaries in the coming weeks, but Santorum’s first opportunity to capture and keep the momentum proved feeble at best.
Now, we can all turn our attention to the Feb. 28 Arizona and Michigan primaries and, more importantly, March 6 and consequential Super Tuesday.
Matthew Westfall is a 23-year-old mass communication senior form Winchester, Va. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_mwestfall.
 
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Contact Matthew Westfall at [email protected]