The primary's held Saturday leave the nation with two front runners emerge in the Republican Party. Romney took Nevada with a sizeable victory, thanks in large part to his on the ground presence. McCain used a similar strategy to win South Carolina by arriving early and making his face known to the people. With such important wins under their belts the question is who came out ahead?
The obvious answer would be McCain. South Carolina has never been lost by a Republican president, and is often a bellwether for the south. McCain’s victory over the struggling Huckabee almost guarantees widespread Republican support in the South along with the historical independents he courts. Even with this victory; the issue of his age, and his maverick persona could lead to problems with the conservative base of the party.
Romney is not out of the race yet, however. Having took the first of the southwestern states, and an almost assured victory in Utah leaves him with tremendous momentum. His near limitless resources could be the deciding factor in the Republican race for the nomination, but Romney has issues to overcome as well. Chief among them is the issue of his Mormon faith. The back bone of the Republican base has been, in recent years, the so called value voters. Value voters are predominantly protestant. A fact that could end up costing Romney much needed support in Republican strong hold states as was the case with South Carolina.
With a Republican victory the toughest fight will remain ahead as the victor will go on to run against a heavily favored Democrat in the general election. It’s up to the Republican electorate to pick the candidate who can overcome such a hurdle.
