U.S. Republican presidential candidates are busy campaigning throughout
the day Monday, as they head into the “Super Tuesday” nominating
contests in 10 states.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is locked in a tight battle
with Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator, in the closely watched
contest in Ohio.
A new opinion poll shows the Ohio race is too close to call. The
Quinnipiac University survey shows Romney has gained momentum since last
month, and now has 34 percent of likely Republican primary voters, three
points ahead of Santorum. In February, Santorum led in Ohio.
The contests Tuesday will move Republicans closer to selecting their
candidate to face President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in the November
election.
Super Tuesday features a diverse set of states with 419 delegates at
stake — roughly equal to the total number number of delegates contested
so far. A candidate needs 1,144 delegates to secure the nomination.
Romney
leads the delegate count so far, and hopes to continue his momentum from
recent wins into Tuesday.
Meanwhile, former House speaker Newt Gingrich is making national media
appearances, while also holding events in Tennessee. He is confident of
a win in Georgia, the southeastern state he represented in Congress for
two decades and where polls show he has a large lead.
Ron Paul, a U.S. representative from Texas, is campaigning in Idaho,
after making stops Sunday in Alaska.
The other states taking part in Super Tuesday are Massachusetts, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia. Romney is expected to do well in
Massachusetts, where he was governor from 2003 to 2007, and in the
neighboring state of Vermont.
