On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that the Republican presidential race is “mathematically” over and that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is all but assured to be the GOP’s nominee.
“Mathematically, Rick would have to win 75 percent of what remains,” Graham, a senior Republican who serves on various Senate committees, told ABC’s “This Week” program.
“He’s done an outstanding job, Rick has, of starting with almost nothing and being a real contender, and Newt’s come back from the dead two or three times,” Graham said. “But mathematically, this thing is about over, but emotionally it’s not.”
Currently, the Real Clear Politics delegate count lists Gov. Romney as having won just under 40 percent of the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination.
“If Romney does well, wins either Mississippi or Alabama and wins Illinois, then I think it’s virtually impossible for this thing to continue much beyond early May.”
“It’s Romney’s to lose,” he said. “And, quite frankly, every time he had his back against the wall, he’s performed. And I like his chances, but the other two candidates have got to make that decision themselves.”
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s campaign team, however, contends that were former Speaker Newt Gingrich to drop out of the race, Mr. Santorum would be in a position to consolidate the conservative vote and possibly beat Mr. Romney.
The Republican Party’s national convention will take place in Tampa, Florida, at the end of August.
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