With Mitt Romney suspending his campaign, the dynamics of the GOP has changed direction. The only candidate that John McCain has to compete with for the Republican Party nomination is former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. When asked about a one-on-one with Huckabee, McCain said he thought it would be a “respectful” one though they have differences on issues such as taxes and health care.
McCain’s campaign said that the fight into Super Tuesday would be difficult and would continue after the voting was completed. But, the plan was to focus on Romney and to make it hard on Romney to get him to drop out. As a result, Romney had suspended his campaign.
“At the end of the day we will not have enough delegates for the nomination but will make it hard for him,” said Steve Schmidt, a McCain adviser.
Charlie Black, McCain advisor said he tallied the delegate count. “It is virtually impossible for Romney or Huckabee to be the nominee based on the arithmetic,” Black said.
But, Black had words of respect for Romney. “In the states that he won, he has great appeal. It’s his home base, he’s an attractive candidate. At the end of the day we give him all the credit,” Black added.
He also pointed out that the states Huckabee won; McCain did little to no advertising due to a lack of funds.