A roundup of front pages:
The New York Times: “Romney appears the Ohio winner; Santorum strong.”
The Washington Post: “Drawn-out battle goes on.”
The Wall Street Journal: “Romney extends his lead.”
USA Today: “Romney ekes out Ohio win.”
The Boston Globe: “Romney wins big, but rivals hang in.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer: “Romney takes Ohio – barely.”
The Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Advantage Romney.”
The Columbus Dispatch: “Romney snags Ohio.”
The Anchorage Daily News: “Alaska Republicans pick Romney again.”
The Idaho Statesman: “Romney wins Idaho, 4 others.”
The Oklahoman: “Santorum wins Oklahoma GOP primary; Romney gains victories in several states.”
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “Santorum keeps hopes alive."
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Romney claims Ohio; GOP race still muddled.”
The Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune: “GOP splits on Super Tuesday.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Split decision: Romney wins Ohio; Santorum takes Tenn.” (By the way, notice Gingrich, who won Georgia handily, doesn’t get the top headline.)
The Burlington Free Press: “In Vt., Romney supporters unhappy with half a loaf.”
The New York Times’ Zeleny on Super Tuesday: Romney won the delegates, but not necessarily the argument.
The AP headline: “Romney, Santorum share Super Tuesday momentum.” Story: “Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are trying to make the most of a mixed Super Tuesday, each claiming a measure of victory but unable to settle the most tumultuous race for the GOP presidential nomination in decades.”
Another AP story: “Mitt Romney squeezed out a win in pivotal Ohio, captured four other states with ease and padded his delegate lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination but was forced to share the Super Tuesday spotlight with a resurgent Rick Santorum.”
AP’s Elliott on the GOP field: “It's almost like a bad version of Goldilocks. Nobody is just right. Listen to voters -- in person and in exit polls -- and it's pretty clear Republicans aren't all that hot on any of the candidates.”
We pointed out last night, it’s very possible Romney doesn’t amass the 1,144 delegates needed, a majority of all at stake, before convention or at least until mid-May through June. Per Political Wire, “John Avlon notes that if Mitt Romney ‘only musters 40% of the proportional delegates going forward -- equivalent to his average share of the popular vote total to date -- it would mean the first Republican race undecided when the convention opened in a generation.’”
ROMNEY: “Mitt Romney got to sleep in his own bed and will have a rare day off today, and those are both good things because the Super Tuesday election results failed to change the dynamic of the Republican presidential nominating contest,” the Boston Globe’s Johnson writes, adding, “The immediate electoral terrain is not particularly favorable to Romney, with contests in the South and Midwest. The calendar also doesn’t offer another big ticket day until April 24, when there is voting in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island - some places where Romney could do well. Going forward, Romney must continue doing what he has been doing: counting on his superior organization and financing to outlast his three remaining nomination rivals.”
“Romney did not manage to drive his opponents from the field,” the Boston Globe writes. “His campaign had hoped to win in Tennessee, but Santorum benefited there from strong support among conservatives, according to exit polls. … In an era where super PACs can flood the contest with new money from a single donor - and where each time it has appeared Romney could lock up the nomination, the race only became more fluid - the mixed results on Tuesday brought more uncertainty to the nomination.”
Arguing over eight delegates… “Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won more votes in Vermont than his Republican rivals in Tuesday’s presidential primary, but apparently failed to win enough to snare all 17 delegates,” The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press writes. “The outcome so incensed the Romney campaign that it is calling for an investigation of the results, said Vermont Republican Party Chairman Jack Lindley, a Romney supporter.”
Vermont was using a new reporting system for the first time, which the campaigns were aware of. With 99% in, Romney got 40% of the vote to Ron Paul’s 25%. Because of how Vermont allocates delegates, unless Romney got 50% (plus one vote) he would not get all of the state’s delegates. Secretary of State Jim Condos said “the Romney campaign’s complaints were out of line,” per the Free Press. He said, "I think it’s sour grapes for their part because the guy didn’t get the 50 percent they were looking for.” There were some errors, Condos said in reporting, but “said clerks will still submit official tallies that will be certified next Tuesday as they have been for many years.” If Romney won a majority, he’d get all 17 delegates; with 40%, he’d get nine.
