6. Commentary on GOP Race

To read Chelsea Hinojosa's blog click here.

In Ms. Hinojosa's editorial, she believes that the Republican match between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum will drain their campaign resources and fatigue the candidate. This would result in an advantage for Obama's race to presidency. I do agree that this momentary attention divergence away from the Democratic will benefit Obama slightly, but there still are other factors to consider. Perhaps even the increased media coverage of the Republican party may end up as a form of free media used to campaign their platform.

While Santorum uses his more Republican conservative approach against the more moderate Romney, we must remember that American citizens tend to be more moderate. Santorum still hasn't dropped out of the race despite his dwindling campaign funds (on the other hand, Romney has been spending big bucks from PACs and his own wealth which may come back to bite him in the finals). Santorum has begun to take more personal approaches to campaign which we have learned can make a big difference. Pennsylvanian delegate votes are Santorum's priority right now and he hopes to win the majority vote in Texas, giving him 154 delegates due to the primary process explained in Ch. 12 of our textbook.

Another factor that can sway voters is the who Romney or Santorum and Obama may choose as their vice president. In the 2008 elections, John McCain's decision of Sarah Palin as vice president crushed his chances of being elected. According to CNN, the smarter choice is to have a "boring" vice president that will in other words be ready to take on presidency and do the job. We are unsure who Romney (the more likely Republican candidate) will select as vice president and if Obama will chose Joe Biden again. This decision is a potential game changer.

Resources:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/05/politics/santorum-stays-in/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/09/opinion/zelizer-romney-vice-president/index.html