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Posted: February 12, 2008 6:41 PM
McCain Looks to Solidify GOP Nomination with Tuesday Wins
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During Tuesday’s three Potomac Primaries, Arizona Sen. John McCain will try to put more distance between himself and his remaining Republican opponents — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul — in hopes of solidifying the Republican Party around his candidacy.

McCain has a solid lead in delegates after a strong showing on Feb. 5 but still faces opposition from conservatives who disagree with him on some key issues, including immigration and campaign finance reform. According to Associated Press totals before polls closed on Tuesday, McCain has 729 delegates, Huckabee 241 and Paul 14. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won 288 delegates before his withdrawal last week.

Virginia and D.C. are winner-takes-all contests with 63 and 19 delegates at stake, respectively. Maryland’s 37 delegates are parceled out per Congressional District, with the candidate garnering the largest percentage of the vote in that district winning all of those delegates. McCain went into Tuesday with solid poll leads in Virginia and Maryland — Tuesday’s two biggest delegate prizes.

Despite the daunting poll numbers, both Huckabee and Paul have insisted they will remain in the race.

When asked if he had a chance to win in Virginia, Huckabee told local radio station WTOP: “It depends on if our voters truly are willing to come out and show that they believe that there ought to be a real race.”

Huckabee won Louisiana and Kansas over the weekend. With the backing of many conservative supporters, his campaign has insisted he will stay in the race as the alternative to McCain.

On Monday, Huckabee shrugged off McCain’s almost insurmountable lead in delegates saying, “I didn’t major in math, I majored in miracles.” He has said he will drop out if McCain reaches the 1,191 delegates needed to capture the nomination.

Paul’s campaign also used Huckabee’s wins to say he was still in the race. “As the results of this weekend have made clear, many Republican voters are not satisfied with our party’s likely candidate for president, John McCain. This is why my run for the Republican nomination will not end. The principles I stand for - limited government, non-interventionism, respect for individual rights, and strict adherence to the Constitution - have a long and proud tradition in the Republican Party.”

But McCain’s campaign remains confident in the senator’s nomination.

“I think in some of the more rural locations, Mike Huckabee is going to do well. But John McCain is picking up a lot of support all throughout the state, and I think there’s a matter of inevitability to his candidacy, to his nomination,” said Chris Saxman, McCain’s co-chair in Virginia.

McCain campaigned in Virginia on Tuesday and has an event planned in Alexandria, Va. in the evening. Huckabee had events scheduled in his home state of Arkansas on Tuesday but was in both Maryland and Virginia on Monday.
Election officials predicted record turnout especially on the Democratic side where Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in a tight battle for delegates.