by Eduardo Calderon|Staff Writer
As November approaches, the position for the GOP nominee is still up for grabs as three men continue to achieve a possible presidential candidacy.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has 562 pledged delegates, 15 unpledged delegates, with a total of 577 delegates, while Newt Gingrich has 123 pledged delegates, one unpledged delegate and 124 total delegates. Texas representative Ron Paul has 61 pledged delegates, zero unpledged with a total of 61 pledges, and finally Rick Santorum had 220 pledged delegates, one unpledged delegate, and a total of 221 delegates.
Rick Santorum dropped out of the race last Tuesday, April 10th 2012, although being in second place in the number of delegates required. A candidate must receive 1144 delegates to win a nomination.
According to the Associated Press, Mitt Romney has won six primaries, Santorum won four, and Gingrich only winning one, results since Idaho Primary on March 6th.
The need to win primaries is crucial to earning the nomination, but does not always define who will clearly win the position.
in the end, Santorum won contests in 11 states, but all of his primary victories were relegated to the South, and he failed to win any of a string of primaries in the Midwest in recent weeks.
There are upcoming primaries that Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich will compete for to earn more delegates.
The next battlegrounds for the candidates are the Connecticut Primary (28 delegates), the Delaware Primary (17 delegates), the New York Primary (95 delegates), the Pennsylvania Primary (72 delegates), and the Rhode Island Primary (19 delegates), each occurring on Tuesday April 24th, 2012.
Many individuals focusing on the political field are quick to speculate the most probable nominee for the Republican party.
Romney has been able to secure a substantial lead in the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
Certain candidates must appeal to a different group of voters to earn a possible nomination.
“Newt Gingrich appeases the extreme conservatives, but if he hopes to have a shot, he needs to pick up the moderate American voters,” senior Sean Encino said, “Ron Paul has some really good ideas, but some of them make him look weak in the voter’s eye, like his foreign policy.”
Although having the most delegates, some feel Mitt Romney will not be able to connect with the average American citizen.
“Romney has some deep pockets, and he can offer a helping hand, but it’s a plastic helping hand,” Encino said.
The next biggest concern for the nominee, is a possible running mate.
The U.S. news media are rife with speculation about Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Susana Martinez, Bob McDonnell or Rob Portman as possible running mates for Mitt.
Choosing the right running mate can change a lot for the nominee.
“Right now, Romney cannot pick up that many Latino votes, so if he goes with someone like Marco Rubio as his running mate he has a chance to pick up a few unexpected voters that can make a difference,” Encino said, “He can also do the same with woman voters, if he chooses a female running mate.”
The presidency is still up for grabs, as people seek change, but President Barack Obama still remains in the lead at the polls.
“The Republican nominee can be predicted as of right now, but I have no clue how the presidency will lean, I think it’s going to be a close one,” Encino said.
For additionial information, see http://2012.republican-candidates.org/, http://www.washingtonpost.com ,http://www.nytimes.com,
