STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — The battle for Ohio went down to the wire on Super Tuesday but former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney eventually edged out former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum by a one-percent margin.
When news agencies called the race for Romney, he led Santorum by a tally of 452,575 to 440,472. That figure represented the vote totals of the 97 percent of precincts that had reported by 12:30 a.m.
Hogan Gidley, national communications director for the Santorum campaign, told The Daily Caller that despite losing a squeaker in Ohio, Santorum is committed to stay in the race until the very end.
“We are going to Kansas tomorrow and then Alabama, Mississippi and Texas this week,” he said.
Gidley also told TheDC that even though Santorum’s vote totals would likely climb dramatically if Newt Gingrich were to end his candidacy, Santorum’s campaign will not ask the former House speaker to drop out.
Santorum’s message will play well in the South, he explained. Gidley predicted a strong performance for the Pennsylvanian in the next group of primaries.
Earlier in the evening, Santorum took the stage in Steubenville, Ohio, to thunderous applause and chants of “Rick! Rick! Rick!”
The chants erupted sporadically during his address to Ohio supporters. In an atmosphere with the feel of a general election contest, Santorum partisans screamed his name, held up signs hoping to get his attention, and hung on his every word.
The GOP presidential candidate told the crowd of Ohioans in a gymnasium that he grew up in a place just like Steubenville, calling blue-collar towns like it “the heart and soul of this country.”
Even without an Ohio victory, Santorum proved Tuesday that he can compete with Romney in highly contested, head-to-head swing state matchups.
There are 63 delegates up for grabs in Ohio, including 48 allotted from the 16 newly drawn congressional districts. Three belong to each district, winner take all.
Since no one breached the 50-percent barrier in the Buckeye State, the additional 15 “at large” delegates will be split proportionally between Romney and Santorum, since they were the only candidates who won at least 20 percent of the vote.
Three statewide party officials are also automatic delegates — bringing Ohio’s total to 66 — but they are not bound to support any candidate.
Santorum started Tuesday behind Romney in Ohio, by failing to qualify for delegates in three districts. This put nine delegates out of his reach before polls opened. He also failed to “field full delegate slates” in six other districts, potentially disqualifying him from an additional nine delegates, Fox News reported.
After losses in Michigan, Arizona and now Ohio, it remains to be seen whether Santorum’s victories in Tennessee, North Dakota and Oklahoma will provide enough momentum in the final stretch.
Romney also prevailed Tuesday in Massachusetts, Vermont, Idaho and Virginia. Combined with his Ohio win, the former governor is likely to claim more than half of the GOP delegates available on Super Tuesday.