Have any of our readers spent their sleepless nights calculating the
odds of the Republican nominee remaining undetermined until the
Convention? Could 2008 produce a real floor battle for the nominee?
You bet it could. Even a cursory analysis of the GOP nominating
process shows a very diverse process. The abbreviated primary process
may very well allow insufficient time for a fourth or fifth place
finisher in the first four or five contest to run out of money before
February 5. If so, the game then becomes much dicier. Many of the
February 5 states are winner take all in name only. Congressional
district results will determine hundreds of delegates on February 5
alone. For example, California has 173 "district" delegates whose
allocation will ultimately be based on the winners in California's
more than four dozen Congressional districts.