JOHN MCCAIN :::: ( Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma)

• UNRIVALED FRONTRUNNER : No one can now question the grip that McCain has on the title of GOP frontrunner after Super Tuesday.  This was mainly due to Romney’s stumbles rather than a remarkable sweep for JMac. His biggest problem in most states last night was Huckabee, who battled McCain hard in states like Missouri and Oklahoma and beat him in toss-up’s like Tennessee and Georgia. But the California win at the end was what sealed the deal. CA gives McCain the only argument he’ll ever need to beat back Romney and his right wing hordes. It was a major coup - on the order of Hillary’s triumph in the same state - considering the lead that Romney had built up in the final week. McCain’s the frontrunner, and he’s looking to close the deal.
• SUCCESS, FAILURE OF CONSERVATIVE ANGER : Plenty was made of the anti-McCain coalition and their recent attacks on the AZ Senator as a “liberal” who wouldn’t even get their support if he were the nominee. The Coulter’s and Hannity’s were especially targeting California conservatives and GOPers in general. While conservatives nationwide went against McCain by huge margins, the Republican rank-and-file coalesces around their frontrunner. Also, CA conservatives went more for McCain than in most other states. McCain went through ST unharmed.
• THE SPIN : No spin needed; McCain won key, albeit indecisive, victories in the states he needed most, trashed Romney outside of wacky North-Central states and Mass./Utah, and held off Huckabee enough in the Mid-South to gain the big WTA states like MO. He isn’t the nominee yet, but he’s a clear favorite and should have no trouble wiping up Mitt and Huck over the next month. Suspense is gone from the Republican race.

MITT ROMNEY ::::: (Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Utah )

• CONSERVATIVES LOVE HIM - EVANGELICALS/MAINSTREAM REPUBLICANS WEREN’T SWAYED : While the conservative vote went big for Romney, he failed to convince GOPers on the fence or leaning toward the middle that he was the best candidate and that he could still beat McCain. Californians were especially hard on Mitt, leaving him with only three counties and bailing out on him over electability. The final decision at the polls ultimately was based on November. And voters most concerned with the economy actually went for McCain by a 2-to-1 margin. Even Huckabee’s absence from the ballot wouldn’t have saved him in the all-important South, where Romney was trailing well back in third everywhere. And those Huck voters said they’d back McCain before they’d consider Romney.
• IS IT OVER? : Not even close. Romney has pledged to continue his run, he has his own deep pockets to pilfer for cash, and a string of small-state victories gave him respectable numbers last night. But let’s not kid ourselves: Romney won’t be the nominee. His poll numbers burst as soon as voting begins and he now has little to no ammo left to use against McCain. Most Republicans accept him - no turning back from that. He’ll hang around until mid-March.
• THE SPIN : No real spin from Romney. They’re too busy trying to bat down rumors of his immediate withdrawal. They’ll jab at McCain over his failure to beat Huckabee in the South, but will then whine about Huck stealing votes from their guy. Whining, no spin.

MIKE HUCKABEE :::: (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia ) 

• HUCKABOOM - A SHOCKER FROM HUCK, BUT NOT A GAME-CHANGING NIGHT : The 5 states Huckabee one where about 4 more than was predicted. His Arkansas landslide was in the cards, but no sweep of the South was brought up. Lots of early momentum from West Virginia comeback and Georgia/Alabama shockers was tempered as the evening wore on by a big Missouri loss (though it was only by one-percent) and the Romney/McCain train rolling along in the West. He’s just not viable outside of evangelical circles.  His wins were fueled by bible-toting Christians - that’s it.
• STAYING IN THE RACE : One thing these wins does immediately for the Huckabee campaign is allow them to stay in the race. A post-Super Tuesday withdrawal was certain before the actual voting - now it’s nowhere to be seen. He might have a shot at Texas, but he won;t be able to win anything outside of Mississippi coming up. Then he can wave goodbye and look for McCain’s Veep slot.
• THE SPIN : Simple - It’s a two-way race. Not really, but that’s the gospel that the Huck camp will be spreading these next few days.