Super Tuesday did not cull the pack of GOP candidates

Each of the four Republican presidential candidates can claim if not victory, then at least gained momentum, from the Super Tuesday primaries that spanned 10 states – while at the congressional level, one long-time health reform proponent met defeat.

Aping last week’s results, Mitt Romney eked out what he a win by taking six states, among those Ohio, which was considered the day’s centerpiece. The Buckeye State is also where long-time universal healthcare advocate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D), fell to Marcy Kaptur, another incumbent Democrat, in the newly-drawn 9th district. Perhaps the biggest intrigue there is that Kaptur will face Joe the plumber, who won the GOP nomination back in November.

Ohio, when taken with Alaska, Idaho, Vermont, Virginia, and his home state of Massachusetts gave Romney the fuel to vow that he’ll clinch the nomination, even resurrecting words not altogether different from President Obama’s 2008 campaign, saying on stage in Boston Tuesday night, “our campaign is on the move and real change is finally on the way.”

Celebrating his capture of Oklahoma, Tennessee, and North Dakota, Santorum continued his rhetoric. “We have won two gold medals and a passel of silver medals on Super Tuesday," Santorum told supporters in the small city of Steubenville, Ohio, according to this Herald Star story. "We have won in the West, the Midwest and the South and we're ready to win across the country."

Ron Paul – the only candidate to set foot in Alaska – snapped up enough crossover voters in Vermont and Virginia to keep his optimistic “We always win,” attitude alive. Newt Gingrich won his home state of Georgia but, even still, Forbes contributor John Zogby asked Does Newt hate Romney enough to drop out?

Super Tuesday was neither a culling of Republican candidates, nor did it particularly advance the healthcare discourse in the elections, even though Santorum last week claimed healthcare to be “the biggest issue in this race.”

For more of our primaries coverage, visit Political Malpractice: Healthcare in the 2012 Election.

Tom Sullivan is the editor of Government Health IT.