Free Republic

SALT LAKE CITY — The way Mike Kennedy sees it, he’s “just a plain old guy.” He’s no Mitt Romney, the millionaire Republican elder statesman and Kennedy’s opponent for the party’s nomination for Utah’s soon-to-be-open Senate seat. And he’s certainly no Ted Kennedy, the late liberal senator with whom he shares a surname but not a bloodline. Nope. Mike Kennedy’s “just a plain old guy” who “comes from dirt.” Mike Kennedy is not really plain or old. He’s a physician, and a lawyer, and a three-term state legislator, a husband and father of eight children. He’s a practicing member of...

Now that Rick Santorum is out of the race, what happens to his delegates? Santorum has 285 delegates, according to the latest ABC News delegate estimate, second to Mitt Romney’s 661... ...But some of those delegates were never really “his.” ABC estimates that 78 Santorum delegates, from his wins in states that don’t “award” their delegates – Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, and North Dakota, would have been free to support any candidate at the Republican National Convention in Tampa... Another two of Santorum’s delegates were Republican National Committee superdelegates, who will attend the convention by virtue of their positions in the...

Santorum Strong in Kansas Rick Santorum looks set for a comfortable lead in the state of Kansas, which holds its caucuses Saturday with 40 delegates up for grabs. "We chased all the candidates out of Kansas!" Santorum said Friday. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have skipped the state to focus on Alabama and Mississippi, with their primaries on Tuesday. Santorum is expected to win the state even though Bob Dole, the former GOP presidential candidate from Kansas, endorsed Romney earlier this week.

Results 12:33 AM ET 0:50 | 99% reporting Candidate Votes Percent Delegates Mitt-romney_50 Mitt Romney 451,972 38.0% 23 Rick-santorum_50 Rick Santorum 439,932 37.0 17 Newt-gingrich_50 Newt Gingrich 173,797 14.6 — Ron-paul_50 Ron Paul 110,289 9.3 — Show all Show-more-arrow Others 13,717 1.2

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Newt Gingrich will not campaign in Michigan in advance of next Tuesday's primary there: Spokesman R.C. Hammond confirmed Monday night that the campaign is scrapping tentative plans to travel to Michigan at the end of the week ahead of the state’s Feb. 28 primary. Gingrich is spending Tuesday and Wednesday in the other Feb. 28 primary — Arizona — but that is mostly for the sake of Wednesday night’s debate, and his public schedule will be light.

Please share this with your Florida friends, and those you know are on the fence about voting for Romney over Gingrich. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2837840/posts?page=1

Romney aides tell Fox News they expect a second place finish based on exit polls.

Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) - With Newt Gingrich creeping up in the polls and potentially on the cusp of a South Carolina victory, one of Mitt Romney's senior advisers sought to change expectations ahead of Saturdays' pivotal presidential primary. Though his campaign has competed aggressively in the state and is hungry for a win here, Romney strategist Stuart Stevens said the idea of a loss to Gingrich on Saturday is not far-fetched. "Do I think we could lose South Carolina? Sure. Of course," Stevens told CNN after Thursday's presidential debate in Charleston. "The very idea that we are sting where...