What Super Tuesday Means to Four GOP Candidates

By William Browning | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Sun, Feb 19, 2012

In just more than two weeks, several states will hold nominating contests on Super Tuesday for the Republican Party's choice for president in the general election. The Chicago Tribune reports Newt Gingrich is focusing on those states.

Here's why Super Tuesday will be important to the candidates.

* The New York Times reports 11 states will hold some form of elections March 6. That represents the most states in any single day during the entire primary election season for Republicans.

* Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota and Wyoming will hold caucuses. Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia will have primaries.

*There are 466 delegates to the Republican National Convention at stake. Georgia has the most with 76; Vermont has the fewest with 17. Delegate counts are set by the Republican National Committee.

* Delegate counts are increasingly important as the nominating process moves forward. Through eight races, Mitt Romney has 105 delegates. Rick Santorum is second with 71. Gingrich is third with 29 and Rep. Ron Paul has 18. Any of the candidates can take a big lead with decisive wins on Super Tuesday.

* Romney has won four states, half of the races. Santorum has three victories. Gingrich won South Carolina. Super Tuesday can be a momentum changer for a candidate who can sweep several states.

* Home states will be vital for two candidates. Romney has the Michigan presidential primary Feb. 28, a week before Super Tuesday. Gingrich has Georgia among the Super Tuesday battles.

* Polls open as early as 6 a.m. EST on March 6 in Vermont and Virginia. Party hopefuls in Alaska submit their choices in the presidential preference poll from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. AST, four hours behind EST.

* Polls will be open somewhere from 6 a.m. to midnight EST on March 6. Super Tuesday doesn't just mean a lot of states with results -- it also means long hours for election watchers.

* A total of 1,144 delegates are needed to secure the GOP nomination for president. That person will be officially selected in August at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics. Born in St. Louis, Browning is active in local politics and served as a campaign volunteer for President Barack Obama and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Super Tuesday -- Oklahoma Primary Preview

By Roy A. Barnes | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Sun, Feb 19, 2012

The Oklahoma primary is scheduled for March 6. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is scheduled to campaign in the state Monday at Tulsa, while former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum visited earlier this month, drawing a crowd of around 4,000 in that city, according to Tulsa World.

Here is some important information regarding this contest in the Sooner State. 

* 43 delegates are up for grabs, with 40 bound and three unbound. Those candidates who get at least 15 percent support are eligible to share the delegates, according to Free Republic. 

* This is a closed primary. Only registered Republicans can vote. 

* Voters have to have voter identification cards and be at least 18 years old to vote. Those who will be 18 years old within 60 days of the primary could've applied for a voter identification card 25 to 60 days before the primary. Voter registration cards won't be issued within 24 days of the contest. 

* Those who want absentee ballots must submit their request in writing to their county election board, and this year the deadline to submit a request for a ballot by mail is on Feb. 29 at 5 p.m. 

* In-person absentee voting will take place at county election board offices on March 2 (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.), March 3 (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.), and March 5 (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.). 

* Some 46 percent of those Oklahoma citizens surveyed in a 2011 Gallup poll are Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party, while 40 percent are Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party. 

* The 2010 U.S. Census shows whites make up the biggest ethnic group in the state with 72.2 percent. The three largest minority groups are Hispanics/Latinos (8.9 percent), American Indian/Alaska Natives (8.6 percent) and blacks (7.4 percent). Males make up less than half the state's population (49.5 percent). 

* Arizona Sen. John McCain won the Oklahoma primary four years ago with 37 percent support. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished third with 25 percent, while Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, got 3 percent support. The latter two are the only two major GOP presidential candidates currently running that ran in 2008.