In a previous post I published a video of Sarah Palin explaining how only 3 out of 50 states have weighed in on the GOP candidates via primaries and caucuses and how the process strengthens the eventual nominee, no matter who that candidates ends up being.
As of right now, Rick Santorum has won one state's caucuses (Iowa), Mitt Romney has won one primary state (New Hampshire) and Newt Gingrich has won one primary state (South Carolina).
Florida's primary is on Tuesday, January 30, 2012.
For those reading the mainstream media and think Florida is it.... remember that there is a Total Delegates 2286 and 1144 Delegates are needed for a GOP candidate to win the Republican nomination for President. (Numbers from NYT and CBS News)
Right now the count is:
Gingrich- 23
Romney- 19
Rick Santorum- 13
Ron Paul- 3
Jon Huntsman- 2 (Huntsman is no longer in the running)
Florida would have had 99 delegates but they are being penalized and half the delegates were taken away for conducting their primary before February 2012 which means 50 delegates will be awarded. (Correction made to number of delegates)
Note- South Carolina was also penalized and only half the delegates were awarded.
Taking all that into account, Palin is right in saying the process is just at it's beginning stages.
Which is why it makes perfect sense for Newt Gingrich, via Washington wire, predicting a "straight-out contest for next 4 or 5 months," stating that it is his intent to stay in the Republican presidential primary “all the way to the convention.
“This is a campaign about the future of America and the future of the Republican party. Do you want an insider who’s part of the city which has been accepting huge amounts of taxpayer money to prop up giant institutions or do you want somebody who’s prepared to challenge our system head on and insist on very dramatic change in Washington? I think that’s worth a serious debate and I think that debate will go all the way to the convention.”
He continued: “We have no evidence yet that Romney anywhere is coming close to getting the majority and I think when you take all of the non-Romney votes, it’s very likely that the convention will be a non-Romney majority and maybe a very substantial one. My job is to convert that into a pro-Gingrich majority.”
The full 2012 primary/caucus schedule can be found HERE.
(Correction made to this post)