Name a state in that south that Romney can win, Feb 5 or in the general.
Not including FL.
Is Romney campaigning in any southern states other than Florida?
Romney has polled well in Missouri and Kansas in the primaries.
And in the general, the south will coalesce around whoever is the Republican. Add to that that Romney can bring us Michigan in the general and it’s huge 17 ECVs, and Romney is very viable in the general.
Romney can win the Texas primary and Texas in the general election against any Democrat, should it come to that. He can certainly sweep the south against HRC, and it wouldnt hurt to have Haley Barbour on the ticket to nail that down tight.
As for Feb 5, it hinges on Florida. If Romney wins Florida, he will be competitive in any southern state which has voters who oppose McCain’s amnesty bill.
The only wrinkle is that Huckabee pulls enough social conservatives to give McCain plurality wins and may do so on Feb 5th even if he comes in 4th or 5th in Florida. (Huck’s pretty much done.)
Huckabee has been McCain’s god send, by splitting the fiscal cons from the social cons. McCain is able to win with lower total votes than he got in 2000, but today he is running against Huck and Romney, while in 2000 G W Bush united the Romney and Huck voting pools to defeat McCain. If Huckabee were truly out of the picture, then Romney could and would be competitive everywhere in the south against McCain on feb 5th, and would beat HRC everywhere there as well.
If the south gives us McQueeg, they had better start learning spanish now because they are about to be inundated with illegals.