EXCLUSIVE:

After going over the top in the delegate count, John McCain will visit the White House to appear with POTUS Wednesday then will go to Republican National Committee Headquarters to speak to staffers about the gen election strategy.

After the sweep by Obama and McCain in the Potomac Primaries the latest delegate count by Real Clear Politics shows McCain has about 3/4 of the needed delegates and Huckabee has less than one quarter.

The actual delegate count is completely vague. Each campaign on both sides counts delegates differently. The AP and various networks have differing numbers too. On the democratic side, it is clear that Obama has the lead but by how much is the subject of debate and super delegates which are available only for the democratic contest are another story entirely.

In West Va, a state that Romney was confident he had locked up, Huckabee bested Romney with a little help from his friend, McCain and his delegates…..The Romney campaign was quick to react issuing the following statement;

Romney has had organization, paid staff and volunteers in West Va for months……neither McCain nor Huckabee organized this 18 delegate state convention state..
Romney was confident of a win there and looked forward to announcing another gold early afternoon during the peak of voting on Super Tuesday.
In the first round of votes, Mitt led, followed by Huck and third, McCain. Because of the state convention rules of W.VA a second round of votes quickly followed and McCain’s delegates threw their support to Huck and he instantly won this “winner take all” state.
WV McCain delegate John Vuolo says that former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer approached him and other McCain supporters in person at the WV convention and told them he (Roemer) had spoken to McCain and the best thing to do at this point was to support Huckabee in the hope that Huck could beat Romney there.

Marina Del Ray, CA:

Marina Del Ray, CA

Two things matter; whether the 22 states voting tomorrow are “winner take all” AND whether their primary is open or closed.

Ten of the delegate-rich states including New York are “winner take all.” California and New York are two states that hold closed primaries. No independents, only registered Republicans in those closed primaries will be putting their ballots in the box for McCain, Romney or Huckabee. This should benefit Mitt since conservative Republicans view McCain with suspicion.

California with 173 delegates is a proportional state with a closed primary. McCain was leading but Mitt has closed the gap so he added a quick last minute campaign stop there. Even coming in second, he could gain a sizable number of delegates.

New York with it’s 101 delegates is a winner take all and closed primary and McCain is the clear favorite there.

The Bay state with 43 is heavily favored for Mitt even though McCain staked a claim there while watching the Giants best the Patriots last night.

In many southern states Huckabee is competing within the margin of error, including Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and Alabama. His staying in the race peels votes from Romney and has led to a sharp back and forth between the two with Mitt calling it “vote stealing” and Huckabee accusing Mitt of trying to suppress the vote. Romney seems to be gaining momentum in some of those southern states.

McCain is at a clear advantage in delegate count but Romney numbers have tightened in some of the latest polls following attacks by Romney accusing McCain of not being sufficiently conservative enough.

36 hours until polls close and even then it may be hours later before the final delegate totals are in.

Big deal! Winner take all….57 delegate votes….93 delegates to Romney’s 59!

Delegate Count

Prepare for a late night in Florida. Romney and McCain are splitting within the margin of error. In the final hours of campaigning, often at polling stations, McCain took one final swipe at Romney, blaming him for the negative campaigning.

Hear what he says as reported by Shus Walshe, our intrepid Romney embed producer

Romney got in a gentle jab, “One of the candidates running out there said the economy is not his strong suit. Well, it’s my strong suit!” He also reminded supporters at his only event of the day, almost as an afterthought, to get out there and vote.

According to the Florida Republican Party 1.5 million republicans could turn out to vote NOT including absentee and early voters. It could take upward of half a million votes to cinch those crucial 57 electoral votes for one of the contestants.

It’s winner take all, 57 delegates! Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani are battling for third.

Mitt claims the pro-growth economic message with Michigan, NH solidified Mac’s strong security message and Huck in Iowa got the jump on social and religious conservatives…3 winners with distinct messages, and with strengths and weaknesses regionally and on core GOP issues…There is no front-runner.
SC was always THE state for southerner Fred Thompson to win…failing here could eliminate him.
But McCain has long viewed SC (with a high per capita population of retired and active military) as key to his long term viability.
And because as much as 60% of the South Carolina GOP vote is evangelical Huck needs to win here too!
A 3 way do or die???
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Now the race is about delegate counting with all the candidates planning for a long war of attrition beyond February 5th. When you look at the count and the map there is little incentive for anyone to bail out regardless of the outcome of South Carolina .

States allocating pledged delegates to date:
Iowa, Wyoming (GOP), New Hampshire, Michigan

Source: Real Clear Politics

Republican Delegates (1,191 needed to win nomination)

As for Giuliani, he put all his eggs in Florida’s winner-take-all basket. There are 57 delegates to be won there.

He is tied with McCain. If McCain wins South Carolina that could propel to a win of those 57 delegates.