Mark Halperin of TIME examines the road ahead for Republican presidential contenders and finds that the contest could last for some time.
[T]here are valid reasons to stay in the race under the circumstances. First, the rules: As the Gingrich team points out, a mere 5% of the 2,286 delegates have been selected so far. Even if Romney wins every available delegate, he won’t clinch the nomination until late April. And for the next few months, nearly all the GOP contests award their spoils proportionally rather than by winner take all, allowing even a second-place finisher like Gingrich to collect delegates and prevent Romney from pulling far ahead in the count anytime soon.
Then there’s the calendar: While the handful of contests in February favor the former Massachusetts governor, the landscape shifts in March. Gingrich can pick his spots in coming weeks, launching counterattacks next month on friendly terrain in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas.
Finally, there are the voters: Gingrich’s biggest opportunity remains the restless Tea Party, whose members retain suspicions about Romney’s claims that he’s a conservative.
