Romney leads in Super Tuesday contest

Tuesday evening, according to early vote counts and projections made by US media.
As the most important day in the Republican primary calendar, Super Tuesday decides 437 delegates, about one fifth of the total that will go to the party’s national convention to decide the presidential nominee.
Romney’s most important win in terms of media attention was Ohio, which was considered the marquee race of the evening.
Romney, who came from behind in opinion polls in that state, snatched victory from former Pennsylvania senator Santorum after pelting him with negative ads.
Besides Ohio, Romney also won Idaho, Virginia, Vermont and Massachusetts.
In terms of delegate count, Romney’s win in Virginia was especially important, as former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Santorum failed to qualify under the state’s stringent rules on statewide ballot access requirements — 10 000 signatures, with at least 400 from each of the 11 congressional districts, all to be collected by Virginia residents.
Virginia has 49 delegates and a decisive win here could potentially provide Romney with a chance to take all the delegates and further enlarge the lead he enjoys over Santorum, who has emerged in past months as his main rival. Romney also was projected to win in Vermont, which has 17 delegates. He cruised to an easy win in Massachusetts, according to exit polls and incomplete tally results. — Xinhua.