Will the Republican Tuesday remain "Super"?

Ever since states started to collaborate on holding their primaries on the same day to increase their power relative to the early states (Iowa, New Hampshire, etc.), the Republican nominee has been effectively determined upon the outcome of "Super Tuesday". Will the trend continue?

In 2008, with a relative split in the delegates won on Super Tuesday, it became readily apparent that Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton were going to be battling until the last primary vote was cast. A substantial split of the delegates among Republicans on Super Tuesday 2012 would probably do the same.

However, it appears that with his narrow Michigan win last week, Mitt Romney may have enough momentum to avoid losing too many states today. Notice, this isn't a ringing endorsement of the strength of his popularity among Republican voters. When you only win by a few percentage points in your home state to a candidate who's views are anything but mainstream and who is very underfunded, that isn't a clarion call to your inevitability. But, it might be enough for Mitt. The concept of Mitt Romney losing his birth state of Michigan was so prevalent that when he held on to win, Mitt Romney seemingly beat expectations. Similarly, if Mitt Romney wins the iconic battlefield of Ohio today, almost regardless of the results in other states, it will announce the likelihood of his nomination.

A win today in Ohio and an accumulation of delegates today in the high 100s out of the 400+ available will not so much make Mitt Romney seem like the victor as much as it will make everyone come to the conclusion that neither Rick Santorum, nor Newt Gingrich, nor Ron Paul have the ability to beat Mitt Romney. Kind of backing into the nomination.

If this was the Democratic Party, I would say that the race for the presidency 2012 is over. However, the Republican Party has an uncanny ability to hold their nose and emphatically support a candidate they do not like because they realize they hate him less than his opponent, President Barack Obama.

I believe Mitt Romney will win the most states and delegates today, but both Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich will win one or more states and 10-20% of the available delegates today. Mitt Romney still will not be very far ahead of the delegate count. But it will be all but over as to who will be the Republican nominee, even if nobody drops out of the race. Once they get to winner-take-all primaries, coming in second place won't matter and Mitt will coast to the convention.