Super Tuesday: The 10-State Voting Extravaganza

March 7, 2012 -- intro: Mitt Romney won six of 10 states up for grabs on Super Tuesday and built up a commanding lead among delegates who will officially select the party's nominee at this summer's Tampa convention.

In total, Romney won 213 delegates Super Tuesday, almost half the total 437 at stake, and more than his competitors combined. If Romney had fallen short of 200, it wouldn't have looked good. If he'd climbed toward 300, his aura of inevitability would have glowed even brighter.

But the former Massachusetts governor is not yet a sure thing for the nomination and he must win 47 percent of the remaining delegates before he can rightly be called the presumptive nominee. The math of the GOP nomination lays groundwork for a delegate fight that could extend well into the summer and even potentially leave Romney without the magic number 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

Romney scored victories in Virginia, Vermont, Ohio, Idaho, Alaska and Massachusetts. Rick Santorum emerged the victor in Oklahoma, North Dakota and Tennessee. And Newt Gingrich won his home state of Georgia. Ron Paul came up empty-handed, again.

Romney now leads all candidates with 397 delegates, according to the latest ABC News estimate. Rick Santorum follows with 175, and Newt Gingrich (104) and Ron Paul (45) trail behind.

There are a total of 2,286 delegates up for grabs during the primary and 721 have already been awarded, about 31 percent.

That leaves 1,565 outstanding delegates and Romney will have to win 747 – 47 percent – to reach 1,144.

The calendar could present Romney with some problems. The next contests focus on the South, where he is thought to be weak against Santorum. And the main delegate prizes are more than a month away. New York holds its primary in late April. Texas is likely to hold its primary in late May. And California Republicans do not vote until June.

With most of the votes already cast, the logistical nightmare of awarding the rest of those 437 delegates could take far longer to unravel.

ABC's Amy Bingham and Z. Byron Wolf contributed to this report.

quicklist: 1title: Georgiatext: Winner: Newt Gingrich

Vote Breakdown: With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Gingrich won a big victory in his home state with 47 percent of the vote. Romney came in second with 26 percent, followed by Santorum with 20 percent and Paul with 7 percent.

Delegates: 76

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Gingrich

Newt Gingrich was expected to perform well in his home state, or at least better than he had in the past few contests.

2008 Results: Mike Huckabee (34 percent), John McCain (32 percent), Mitt Romney (30 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

-- 42 congressional district delegates: three awarded proportionally within each district to candidates who surpass a 20 percent threshold in a given district, or winner-take-all if a candidate surpasses 50 percent in a given district.

-- 34 at-large delegates awarded proportionally to candidates who surpass a 20 percent threshold statewide.

-- Three automatic unbound Republican National Committee delegates.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 14

media:15850908

quicklist: 2title: Ohiotext: Winner:Mitt Romney

Vote Breakdown: With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Romney eked out a tight win in Ohio. He nabbed 38 percent of the vote, just 1 percent more than Santorum. Gingrich came in third with 15 percent of the vote and Paul with 9 percent, but neither of them received delegates.Delegates: 66

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Too Close to Call

Ohio wasn't so easily marked in any candidate's column, either by location or demographics, and was talked about as the biggest battleground of March 6. After polls showed Santorum leading in the previous -few weeks, Romney took the lead by 3 percentage points in a Quinnipiac survey at the last minute. Furthermore, Santorum wasn't eligible for roughly a quarter of Ohio's delegates, having failed to file slates of delegates in some congressional districts.

2008 Results: McCain (60 percent), Huckabee (31 percent), Paul (5 percent), Romney (3 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

- 48 congressional district delegates: three awarded winner-take-all within each district.

--15 at-large delegates awarded proportionally to candidates who surpass a 15 percent threshold statewide, or winner-take-all if any candidate surpasses 50 percent statewide.

-- Three automatic unbound RNC delegates. In most states, the state party chairman and Republican National Committee members automatically vote at the national convention as unbound delegates.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 35

media: 15851359

quicklist: 3title:Tennesseetext: Winner: Rick Santorum

Vote Breakdown: With 96 percent of the precincts reporting, Santorum leads with 37 percent, followed by Romney with 28 percent, Gingrich with 24 percent and finally Paul with 9 percent.

Delegates: 58

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Santorum

Santorum led big here, by 21 points to be exact, according to a recent poll from Middle Tennessee State University.

2008 results: Huckabee (34 percent), McCain (32 percent), Romney (24 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

-- 27 congressional district delegates: three awarded proportionally within each district to candidates who surpass a 20 percent threshold, or winner-take-all if any candidate surpasses 66 percent within a given district.

-- 28 at-large delegates awarded proportionally to candidates who surpass a 20 percent threshold, or winner-take-all if any candidate surpasses 66 percent statewide.

-- Three automatic unbound RNC delegates.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 10

media: 15851379

quicklist: 4title: Virginiatext: Winner: Mitt Romney

Vote Breakdown: With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Romney won with 59 percent of the votes compared to Paul's 41 percent. Paul and Romney were the only two candidates on the ballot.

Delegates: 49

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Romney

Romney and Paul were the only two active presidential candidates on the ballot in Virginia, as Gingrich and Santorum failed to submit 10,000 signatures of registered Virginia voters by Dec. 22, including 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts.

2008 results: McCain (50 percent), Huckabee (41 percent), Paul (4 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

-- 33 congressional-district delegates: three delegates awarded winner-take-all to the winner of a given district.

-- 13 at-large delegates awarded proportionally to candidates who win more than 15 percent statewide or winner-take-all if any candidate surpasses 50 percent.

-- Three automatic unbound RNC delegates.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 43

media: 15851399

quicklist: 5title: Oklahomatext: Winner: Rick Santorum

Vote Breakdown:With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Santorum pulled ahead with 34 percent of the votes. Romney edged into second place with 28 percent, a hair more than Gingrich's 27 percent. Paul secured 10 percent of Oklahoma GOP primary voters.

Delegates: 43

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Santorum

Related Stories

Trump campaigns after court amid jury selection

• Apr 17, 3:42 PM

Senate kills Mayorkas impeachment trial

• Apr 17, 5:52 PM

OJ Simpson dies at 76

• Apr 11, 6:32 PM

Reflecting on a slew of polls that ABC News did not consider reportable, the Oklahoman nonetheless had reported a big advantage for Santorum in the state. Aside from the lack of verifiable data, Oklahoma was expected to go Santorum's way because of its socially conservative leanings.

2008 results: McCain (37 percent), Huckabee (33 percent), Romney (25 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

--15 congressional district delegates awarded proportionally within each district to candidates who surpass a 15 percent threshold, or winner-take-all if any candidate surpasses 50 percent within a given district.

--25 at-large delegates awarded proportionally to candidates who surpass a 15 percent threshold, or winner-take-all if any candidate surpasses 50 percent statewide.

-- Three automatic unbound RNC delegates.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 13

media:15851369

quicklist: 6title: Massachusettstext: Winner: Mitt Romney

Vote Breakdown: With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Romney won a landslide victory in his home state, capturing 72 percent of the vote. Santorum came in second with 12 percent, followed by Paul with 10 percent and Gingrich with 5 percent.

Delegates: 41

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Romney

With party leaders lined up behind him, Romney was expected to handily win the state he governed.

2008 results: Romney (51 percent), McCain (41 percent), Huckabee (4 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

-- 38 bound delegates awarded proportionally according to statewide results to candidates who surpass a 15 percent threshold.

-- Three automatic unbound RNC delegates, all of whom have said they back Romney.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 38

media: 15851335

quicklist: 7title: Idahotext: Winner: Mitt Romney

Winner: With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Romney won big with 62 percent of the vote. Santorum and Paul tied for second with 18 percent, and Gingrich came in last, managing to snag 2 percent of the vote.

Delegates: 32

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Romney

Romney and Santorum campaigned in Idaho in February, but a Mormon advantage worked in Romney's favor. Romney won 93 percent of the Mormon vote in Arizona, and 23 percent of Idaho residents are Mormons, according to survey data from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 21 percent higher than the nation as a whole.

2008 results: McCain (70 percent), Paul (24 percent), Uncommitted (6 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

-- All 32 delegates are awarded by county.

-- Each county selects only one winner, and counties carry weights based on past GOP vote performance.

-- By winning counties, candidates add to their cumulative percent weight, which is multiplied by 32.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 32

media: 15850939

quicklist: 8title: North Dakotatext:Winner: Rick Santorum

Vote Breakdown: With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Santorum took the gold with 40 percent of the vote. Paul came in a distant second place with 28 percent of the votes, followed by Romney with 24 percent and Gingrich with 8 percent.

Delegates: 28

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Romney

Polling was scarce, but Romney won in 2008 with 36 percent to John McCain's 23 percent.

2008 results: Romney (36 percent), McCain (23 percent), Paul (21 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

-- 25 unbound delegates selected later by convention.

-- Three automatic unbound RNC delegates.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 7

media: 15851345

quicklist: 9title: Alaskatext: Winner: Mitt Romney

Polls closed at midnight ET Tuesday night, and Romney came in first with 33 percent of the vote. Santorum got 29 percent, Paul 24 and Gingrich came in last with 14 percent.

Delegates: 27

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Romney?

Alaska is notoriously difficult to predict, given the scarcity of reliable polling. Paul was the only major 2012 candidate to campaign there leading up to Super Tuesday, but Romney won the state handily in 2008.

2008 results: Romney (44 percent), Huckabee (22 percent), Paul (17 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

-- 24 delegates awarded by state legislative district. Districts carry weights according to past GOP vote performance, and the allotment system works similarly to Idaho's.

-- Three automatic unbound RNC delegates

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 8

media: 15850836

quicklist: 10title: Vermonttext: Winner: Mitt Romney

Vote Breakdown: With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Romney won Vermont with 40 percent of the vote, followed by Paul with 26 percent, Santorum with 24 percent and Gingrich with 8 percent.

Delegates: 17

Pre-Tuesday Advantage: Romney

Mostly by virtue of its geography and overall liberalism, Vermont Republicans were expected to support the former moderate governor next door.

2008 results: McCain (72 percent), Huckabee (14 percent), Paul (7 percent)

Delegate Minutiae

-- All 17 delegates awarded proportionally to candidates who receive over 20 percent of the statewide vote, or winner-take-all if any candidate surpasses 50%.

Romney Delegate Takeaway: 9

media: 15851389