Rick Santorum had an impressive victory this weekend — winning 33 of their 40 delegates at the Kansas caucuses on Saturday.
But the real winner this weekend, at least as far as delegates are concerned, was Mitt Romney.
The former Massachusetts governor picked up a total of 39 delegates — winning contests at the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming — bringing his total count up to 455.
It is becoming increasingly clear that a Republican nominee is coming into view.
And these numbers bear out the fact that barring some extraordinary turn of events, that nominee will be Mitt Romney.
While he's yet to net within half the 1144 delegates he needs to win the nomination, he still has more than twice the delegates of any other opponent and leads Rick Santorum by a substantial 256-point (455 to 199) delegate margin.
Heading into the Republican National Convention, Mitt Romney is likely to be at or just shy of the 1144 delegates needed to win the nomination. In such a situation, he would be almost certain to pick up the 114 unpledged delegates as well as the 86 delegates in states that have already voted that have yet to be allocated.
In such a situation, it is hard to see how a Republican establishment that has almost totally committed itself to his nomination would turn back the governor's effort.
Douglas E. Schoen is a political strategist, Fox News contributor, and author of several books including the forthcoming "Hopelessly Divided: The New Crisis in American Politics and What It Means for 2012 and Beyond" (Rowman and Littlefield). Read more reports from Doug Schoen — Click Here Now.
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