Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Vote Totals and The GOPBCS Rankings; #1 Mitt; #2 Rick; #3 Newt
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 1:00 PM

                        Gingrich        Romney        Santorum

Iowa                16,163            29,805            29,839

NH                    23,411           97,532            23,362

SC                   243,398         167,957           102,213

FLA                  531,294         771,842          222,248

NV                        6,956          16,486            3,277

MO                             0           63,826         138,957

MN                      5,134             8,096            21,436

CO                      8,394            22,875           26,372
_______________________________________________________
Total:                834,750       1,178,419        567,704
 

Actual votes don't mean anything in the delegate hunt, just as points scored don't matter to the BCS rankings.

But a vote cast is a real, tangible thing, an act of assent --a "connection" to use the favorite word of the Manhattan-Beltway media elite when minimizing Romney's record, or a clear measurement of number two status that counts a straw poll in Missouri as worth something even if no delegates were awarded, or a recognition that Newt didn't just win inSouth Carolina, he romped there.

I refer you to my earlier piece assessing the primary campaign to date and why I think Santorum is ranked #2 in the GOPBCS at this moment, but Newt backers should grab on to this tally as their evidence of Avis status.