05 February 2008

W.Va. GOP Convention: A Preview

Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul have all told their supporters that they plan to attend West Virginia's Republican Party Convention.

As The Associated Press notes, convention planners scored a coup by convincing three of the four remaining GOP presidential candidates to start their super-busy Super Tuesday schedules in Charleston.

The convention also came close to its goal of attracting 1,446 delegates, with 1,207 certified by mid-Monday, More are possible before the event opens at 9 a.m.

Here's the latest breakdown:

Counties denotes those where the candidate has the largest share of delegates. Huckabee and Paul each have 50 percent of more of the delegates in three counties apiece. Romney enjoys such a margin in six counties.

But the the uncommitted delegates remain a huge wild card. So too are the 166 delegates that had pledged to exited candidates. Though his own delegate count is low, John McCain stands to pick up at least some of the supporters of both Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani, AP reports.

And the strong showing by McCain in most polls may explain why his opponents are increasing their push for the 18 national delegates at stake at West Virginia's convention.

McCain is sending former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer to speak on his behalf, and his campaign has planned an election night party in Charleston.

Among those with coverage, Public Broadcasting has been profiling the candidates and has segments on Huckabee, Romney and McCain.

MetroNews also previewed the convention, interviewing CEO Bob Fish.

WSAZ-TV is also providing extensive coverage that includes audio updates and live video. WOWK-TV offers a preview with video.

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