Romney Endorses McCain for President, Huckabee Vows to Stay in the Race
Mitt Romney endorses John McCain for president in Boston Thursday, embracing the Arizona senator's candidacy after a hard-fought primary. (AP Photo)
Happy Valentine’s Day, John McCain.
The GOP front-runner got a big political hug Thursday from former rival Mitt Romney, who in urging his own delegates to back the Arizona senator, put him in striking distance of sealing the nomination for good.
Romney and McCain were engaged in a bitter fight before the former Massachusetts governor suspended his race last week during an address to conservatives in Washington — but at the announcement Thursday in Boston the two were like old friends.
“Things can get pretty rough in a political campaign, and in the thick of the fight it’s easy to lose sight of your opponents’ finer qualities. But the truth of the matter is that in the case of Senator McCain I could never quite do that,” Romney said, highlighting McCain’s dedication to national security. “Even when the contest was close and our disagreements were debated, the caliber of the man was apparent.”
Romney suspended his campaign for the GOP nomination after McCain came out of the Super Tuesday contests with a huge lead in the delegate count — but he did not offer an immediate endorsement.
Romney’s backing Thursday could help McCain lock up the nomination faster than initially expected. Romney said he’s encouraging his delegates — which number 280 — to back the Arizona senator, though they’re not bound to do so.
But rival Mike Huckabee, who has 242 delegates, is vowing to stay in the race.
“I may get beat, but I’m not going to quit. It’s just not in my nature,” he told FOX News after the endorsement.
The latest delegate tallies show McCain has 843 delegates, a few hundred short of the 1,191 needed to secure the nomination. Sources tell FOX News that Romney decided to endorse earlier Thursday in the interest of helping McCain gain the delegates needed to seal the nomination and unite the party for the general election.
Romney cited similar reasons when he suspended his campaign last week, saying he didn’t want to forestall the launch of a national campaign and hurt his party by staying in the race. Romney and McCain were in a tough race beforehand, with Romney persistently casting McCain as a Washington insider who is out of step with the GOP mainstream and McCain casting Romney as a flip-flopper.
McCain said Thursday that Romney’s support is a “vital ingredient for victory in November,” and that “We all know it was a hard campaign. Primaries are tough … and now we move forward.”
McCain already had the support of former New York mayor and GOP candidate Rudy Giuliani. But Romney’s endorsement could help McCain in his quest to convince party conservatives that he shares their ideals, since Romney was the GOP pick of several prominent conservatives.
McCain’s recent aura of inevitability has triggered the ire of conservative talk show hosts and pundits, but the Arizona senator has made headway in attracting the confidence of prominent elected conservatives, including House GOP Leader John Boehner and others in the Republican leadership.
Meanwhile, Huckabee’s campaign argues there’s no reason to drop out until somebody has 1,191 delegates.
Campaign manager Chip Saltsman told FOX News that it’s “good news” Romney’s delegates are being released.
“It means they are up for grabs,” he said of the delegates, adding that Huckabee never expected to get Romney’s endorsement.
While Romney can ask his delegates to support McCain, he won’t be able to simply hand over all 280 delegates. Many are from caucus states that won’t select the actual delegates until state conventions this spring. Those delegates will be selected by people who supported Romney in the initial caucuses; the direction they go depends on whether they follow Romney’s lead in endorsing McCain.
In other states, the delegates are bound to Romney, and their fate is governed by state party rules. In states like Montana, where Romney has 25 delegates, they would be free to support whomever they choose after Romney releases them.
Six of Romney’s delegates are members of the Republican National Committee who continued to endorse him even after he dropped out of the race. These RNC members are free to support any candidate they choose at the convention.
FOX News’ Shushannah Walshe and Serafin Gomez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
WHAT IF………….how about if we,christians,are right?You lose.If it’s not true,we have nothing to lose.
Guys, in case you did not know. Ronald Reagan did not endorse any republican candidate for president until he was the parties official nominee, as he felt it was not right for him to do so.
Ronald Reagan also did not drop out as a candidate, but ran his campaign to the end followed by a brokered convention!
Wake up you ignorant people, and stop acting like running until the convention is anything less than RR did, or that he also endorsed as a policy.
If RR was alive he would not have endorsed the “so called” front runners McCain, Guiliani, Huckabee, McCain as they were the front runners, not the nominee, and RR only endorsed nominees, not candidates for the nomination. In fact, not to belittle Romney whom I repsect, but he was never in the lead once either in the polls, or actual delegate counts. I do think Romeny would be a better choice than McCain though, and was one of my last two possibles for my vote. Tommorow I will cast my vote.
I hope I do not destroy the republican party by expressing my preference like most of you already have for your choice.
I will vote for Huckabee for the republican party nomination, which if he wins that nomination, and becomes the republican nominee I will expect all of you good republicans to support the nominee of the party. If you live by your own words, then you have no choice but to support the nominee once the convention establishes the nominee. Until then shut up the whining it makes you all sound like a bunch of liberals crying for votes like Hillary.
John McCain will be the next President of the USA
Response to page 21 post: why endorse candidate that hasn’t won?
Your short sightedness is an exact reflection of your candidate.
It’s about delegates; your candidate cannot win; it’s not about miracles, it’s math. A man who thinks more about miracles than math is not a realist. The candidate process gives us a chance to see a man up close for months before the voting process. Sorry; it’s the game. Your man is just not electable.
We are at war; it is a war of words / philosophy as well. Those of us who think the pastor needs to step aside are realists. Just because I can’t get the whole loaf of bread is no reason to pout and refuse the portion I can get. The idea to bow out, gracefully, is the recognition that a target has a bull’s eye surrounded by concentric rings. When you are on the 20% ring, you quit complaining and join the team to move forward to do the greater good. If something is “broken”, YOU have an opportunity to be part of the solution or remain the problem. A man of greater vision and valor than your candidate, recently did just that to unify the party, strengthen the campaign purpose and liberate us from a socialist agenda that will destroy America and erase the victory of Middle East endeavors if implemented.
No government demands so much of its people as a democracy. It is for this reason your candidate needs to leave. Sadly, his inaction is an indictment of his judgment, valor and humility———–not the mark of a true statesman, or moral leader. “Let he who stands beware lest he fall”
And, btw: sometime ask the good pastor if he is aware of an organization known as Judicial Watch. You and he would be interested to know Huckbee’s esteemed position among his fellow American citizens. Judicialwatch.org
1. Daryl, post on page 1, (crazy to spend his own money)
2. Others who think Mitt was wrong to endorse Mc Cain:
1. Some whose lives have been spent in service and giving (translation: unselfish) are often motivated by what they can do to improve the environment, school, business or nation. Mitt spent some 35 million of his own money because he believed he could make a difference in our country and had the means to do so. He is not a self seeking politician as evidenced by his actions of last few days. He is a fix it man, a kind of visionary. He was ASKED to help out in the Olympics (did he take a salary?) and ASKED to run for gov of Mass, (did he take a salary?) if the facts are correct. Those opportunities proved his ability and talent.
He made all the money he needs or wants, the old fashioned way; it helped that he’s very bright. Smart people, who are wealthy, like to protect what they think is worthwhile. Some gave their honor, their lives, reputation et al for this nation. They were called founding fathers and it’s called patriotism.
2. Why did More MAN, the Mitt, endorse Mc Cain?
When you see a man on the top of a mountain, you know he didn’t just fall there. No question about the mountain of differences in Romney and Mc Cain. It takes a true man to realize the bigger picture, put aside his own agenda, rally the troops and support the individual whose candidacy is near certain. What are the alternatives? A man of pride can try to take down as many as he can because of wounded ego. Not so More Man. We are at war, some whose apathy would erase all the efforts of the last few decades in the progress of liberty want to wave a white flag, the dems are promising the most socialist agenda in history of U.S., new justices are in the next presidency, China/India are emerging economic giants, we are oil dependent and the GOP needs the unselfish support of true lovers of freedom, even if it means the sacrifice of their own agenda. Get it?
Instead of you whiners and complainers questioning the true motives of a man dedicated to high principle, get on your knees and Thank God for men whose early examples of patriotism still imbue some of the rest of us with a love for the home of the brave and land of the free.
I like that Ron Paul adheres to the Constitution, and he is a far better choice than McCain. However, I was very disturbed by his position that if we leave the rest of the world alone (i.e. the terrorist) they will leave us alone. That, to me, is an insane and unacceptable position.
I also heard a rumor (that I have been unable to confirm) that he is not supportive of an amendment on the sanctity of life or of banning embryonic stem cell research.
I have wondered if a Huckabee/Paul ticket might excite the conservative base in the much needed revolt against the “lesser evil” parties?
Jeff -
Can you tell me why you are supporting Huckabee over Ron Paul?
This just goes to show that Mitt flip-flopped in what he stands for again. The fact that he continually brought out the differences between him and McCain and now he is endorsing McCain instead of Ron Paul or Huckabee shows that he is just another government “good-ole-boy” who plays politics instead of doing what is right for this country.
We should be voting to elect the person who promises, or better yet, shows a consistent record in defending the Constitution, instead of voting for what “issues matter to them.” The standard is the document that this country has survived under for over 200 years, the document that elected officials promise to uphold. But no one thinks along that line anymore. Ron Paul is the only one that has shown understanding of the Constitution and a man one can trust.