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Bachmann to announce she's quitting at 10 AM

by Verified Atheist 1/4/2012 - 10:53 am

OK, maybe I'm reading between the lines a bit, but not much.

Here's an actual blurb:

Campaign manager Keith Nahigan told The Associated Press that the Minnesota congresswoman planned a news conference in Iowa for 10 a.m. Wednesday. Nahigan would not say whether Bachmann intends to drop out.

Update: that's 10 AM Iowa local time, or 11 AM EST.

Read the full article at http://iowacaucus.com/2012/01/04/bachmann-cancels-south-carolina-campaign-stops-plans-10-a-m-news-conference/

With Cain, Perry, and (presumably) Bachmann out, it's now a 5-way race, and that's including Huntsman. So, Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, or Paul? There are reasons to discount each of them, but unless a brokered convention can nominate someone else entirely, one of them will get the nomination.

by Verified Atheist 1/4/2012 - 10:56 am

Some of the delegates are "bound" to vote for the candidates the voters chose.  Others are "morally bound" and another group are "unbound."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/sites/all/files/docs/2012%20RNC%20Delegate...

This indicates which kind of delegates for each state.  I haven't counted up the bound vs. unbound numbers - so I don't know if there is enough unbound delegates to allow for someone else not on the ticket now.

by Another Trope 1/4/2012 - 11:05 am (re: Verified Atheist)

But bound voters are typically bound for a number of ballots at the convention, a distinction that's been meaningless for the last few decades as candidates now lock up a majority of delegates before the convention.

But if Romney staggers to Tampa with only, say, 42% of the delegates in hand, while rival X has about 30% and rival Y around 20%, they're going to have to vote more than once. And after it's clear that no one wins, they're going to have to start switching votes.

 

by Doctor Cleveland 1/4/2012 - 12:08 pm (re: Another Trope)

I might have spoken too soon on Perry, however. (That's not to say the end result for him is not inevitable, just that he still has some more chances to be disruptive.)

by Verified Atheist 1/4/2012 - 12:50 pm (re: Verified Atheist)

For what it's worth, most stations are reporting she's dropped out, but CBS has a different take.

by Verified Atheist 1/4/2012 - 12:29 pm

In her own words, however:

“Last night, the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice and so I have decided to stand aside,” Bachmann said in a hotel ballroom in West Des Moines, Iowa. “We can leave this race knowing that we ran it with utmost integrity,” said Bachmann, who vowed to “continue fighting to defeat the president’s agenda of socialism.”

So, that's it for Bachmann. (No one thought she would win, the only question was how much disruption might she create. The answer appears to be "very little".)

by Verified Atheist 1/4/2012 - 12:44 pm (re: Verified Atheist)

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