BET Experience

Republican Presidential Primary Update

An at-a-glance update of primaries and delegate allocations.

By Joyce Jones

Posted: 05/07/2012 06:35 PM EDT

Filed Under Ron Paul, 2012 Presidential Election, The Road to the White House, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Republican Party, 2012 Election

Newt Gingrich finally surrendered on May 2, leaving frontrunner Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul the last men standing on the Republican presidential campaign trail. There are, however, 23 more contests on the GOP’s primary calendar in the race for the 1,144 delegates needed to officially capture the nomination. Romney, who has so far won 867 delegates, leads Paul (94) by a wide margin. Another clean sweep could help the former Massachusetts governor get close to half of the 277 delegates he needs to reach the magic number.

Indiana: Gingrich (130) and Rick Santorum (130) may have dropped out of the race, but their names will appear on the primary ballot in Indiana, which has 46 delegates. They’ll likely all go to Romney, whose only effort to campaign in the state was a Monday night fundraiser in Indianapolis, indystar.com reports. With the Hoosiers, it’s winner take all.

North Carolina: Barring catastrophe, the Republican presidential primary race is so over that most pollsters are no longer even bothering to take the voters’ pulse in the remaining states scheduled to hold contests. That’s definitely true of North Carolina, which offers the biggest haul of the May 8 primary night, with 55 delegates on the table who will be allocated proportionately.

West Virginia: The Mountain State will likely not be the exception to this week’s primary night rule, and it would be surprising if Romney does not ultimately win each of its 31 delegates. West Virginia voters elect delegates who indicate on the ballot the candidate they plan to support, but they’re not bound to that choice.

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