Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., officially endorsed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Thursday, after dropping out of the race on Feb. 7. The endorsement halted speculation about who would secure Romney's supporters, as McCain's campaign has been significantly more liberal than Romney's was. Advisers say Romney's support will serve as a "conservative validator" for McCain's campaign, according to The New York Times. This endorsement follows McCain's victories in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland primaries earlier this week, solidifying his place as the Republican front-runner. McCain's campaign has now switched its focus from attacking fellow Republican candidates to increasing criticism of Democratic candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. Despite McCain's strong candidacy, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., who took Kansas on Feb. 9, is still actively pursuing the Republican nomination.
"There are still a lot of voices that have not been heard," Huckabee said in an interview with the New York Times. "This election should be about choices and voices, and not a coronation."
For the Democrats, Obama has pulled ahead in delegate count after winning all state elections since Super Tuesday. While neither candidate is expected to win the full 2,025 delegates necessary to be the Democratic nominee, if Obama maintains his lead, he is likely to win the support of the party's superdelegates and win the nomination, according to The New York Times. The future of the race will depend largely on Clinton's delegates in Florida and Michigan, which continue to face disputes after the states' violations of policy regarding changing primary dates. Wisconsin, Ohio and Texas are the next biggest Democrat primaries. If Obama wins the majority in these states, his team will have surpassed its goal of leading by 100 delegates, according to The New York Times. According to a poll released yesterday by Quinnipac University, Clinton currently takes the lead in Ohio and Pennsylvania, with 55 percent and 52 percent of voters' support, respectively.
