Mitt may have won the popular vote by 3% (41-38), but this wasn’t a winner take all contest. Delegates are given based on congressional districts and that means both guys got 15 each.
John Brabender said the campaign’s count proves Santorum and Romney are tied in delegates won, which he said means the state should be classified as a split-decision instead of a win for Romney, who captured the popular vote.“You can only look at Michigan and move it from a win for Mitt Romney to a tie race,” Brabender said on a conference call with reporters. “If we can do this well in Romney’s home state we clearly think this bodes well for Super Tuesday states.”
The latest estimates from CNN showed both candidates with 15 Wolverine State delegates, while Romney is ahead in the popular vote with 41% to Santorum’s 38%. That leaves none of the thirty total Michigan delegates still in play.
So was it a tie? In many ways, yes. This happened quite a few times during the Obama/Hillary contest in 2008 and each side was able to spin close races as wins because of the expectations that had been set before the primaries happened. So, basically, it’s all about how the media spins it. :-)
So those are the questions…will they adopt this new line by Santorum’s camp? Or will they give Romney a pass on this one?
One thing’s for certain…this does not really slow Santorum down. And that has people talking very seriously about a brokered convention.
More as it develops…
