Jae C. Hong
Mitt Romney added another notch to his delegate belt on Tuesday night as the networks called Idaho for the GOP frontrunner. Coming out of Super Tuesday, Rick Santorum made a strong showing behind Romney, while Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul showed no signs they’d be dropping out of the continuing Republican battle. The results and the candidates’ reactions to them, however, may have meant little in the protracted slog toward choosing the GOP’s nominee. Romney scooped up Vermont, Virginia, and Massachusetts early in the evening before capturing Idaho. Meanwhile, victories were called for Santorum in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. The candidates seemed to favor a prolonged contest, with Gingrich calling himself the “tortoise” who’d win through sheer persistence, and Santorum’s spokesman telling reporters that the former Pennsylvania senator’s campaign was ready to fight for the nomination all the way to the convention.