On the eve of Super Tuesday, polls are showing Arizona Sen. John McCain leading in nearly every state over former governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.
In a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released Monday, McCain leads in three out of four key Super Tuesday states: New York, New Jersey and Missouri, while Romney was ahead in California. Huckabee placed third in three of those four states, except for Missouri, where he stands in second place ahead of Romney.
CNN polling has McCain leading in nearly every major contest, except Massachusetts, Utah and California, where he is tied with Romney. These numbers also show McCain leading Romney by an average of 24 points in national polling.
The numbers are similar in an MSNBC-McClatchy poll, with McCain leading in Georgia, New Jersey, Missouri and California.
For his part, Romney is staying positive. “It’s a very tight race. A lot of people said it’s just going to be, you know, a very easy race for Senator McCain,” Romney told reporters Monday in Nashville, Tenn. “But you know what’s happened? Across the country, conservatives have come together and they say, ‘You know what? We don’t want Senator McCain; we want a conservative.’ “
Going into Super Tuesday, McCain held the lead in delegates with 98, followed by Romney with 59. To win the Republican nomination a candidate must secure 1,191 delegates. Many critics suggest that by Wednesday morning, McCain might effectively have enough to knock Romney and Huckabee out of the race.
Campaigning in New Jersey with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, McCain sounded confident, telling reporters, “We’re not predicting anything, but I think we’re in good shape. When I get the nomination I will come back and compete in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut and these states in the Northeast and I’ll have some great help in doing so.”
One day after Super Bowl, Giuliani added, “Sen. McCain put on an unbelievable campaign, just like the Giants.”
Reporting on the politics-as-sports/Super Bowl/Super Tuesday connection is the NPR News Blog, which reported that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Romney exchanged e-mails before the big game. Both hail from Michigan, both are pretty big deals in Massachusetts.
“I actually sent him a couple of plays,” Romney joked to reporters. “I wish he’d send me a couple of plays.”
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