Huckabee wins West Virginia

Mike Huckabee has won the West Virginia Republican convention, with a slim majority of the vote over Mitt Romney.

W. Virginia votes on a plurality-majority type system, much as it would in the national elections, and if no one garners 50% support in the first round, they rangle behind the scenes and vote again.

This happened, with Mitt Romney winning the initial vote, but not a full 50% majority. Huckabee ran a close second, and McCain was a distant third, as this is an overwhelmingly Christian conservative state.

So McCain, at this point, saw a political opportunity and shrewdly threw his supporters behind Huckabee, to deny his closest rival Romney a big opening victory on Super Tuesday. Huckabee is going to play a role in the race from this point forward, but I don't think anyone believes he is going to take the crown overall. All McCain did here was take 18 delegates away from Mitt Romney when they both roll into the Republican National Convention.

Smart, very, very smart, and I respect the move. It's power politics at its best, and I applaud McCain for doing so.

Huckabee is looking good as a possible VP nominee to McCain, as he gives him the Christian conservative vote, as well as a strong number 2, that ran third nationally all through the race. This could be the start of a ball rolling on that type of ticket nationally, but that might be getting a bit ahead of everything.

For now, Huckabee has scored a good PR win, McCain denied his nearest, and only viable rival the delegates and PR he so richly needs, and Romney, well Romney gets nothing out of the deal, except out-manuevered...

I'll be back with more updates as they hit the airwaves.