ABC News digs into the process of how each state in the Republican primary’s delegate count is determined.

“Delegates
are allotted to states based on two factors. The first is a
mathematical formula connected to a state’s congressional
districts… The second determining factor is a bit more puzzling to a
non-political wonk. In addition to congressional districts, delegate
totals are also based on the Republican Party’s influence throughout the
particular state. States get ‘bonus delegates’ for hitting various
marks; electing a Republican governor, electing a majority of Republican
leadership to either chamber of the state’s legislature, electing a
Republican senator within the six year period between Jan. 1, 2006 and
Dec. 31, 2011, etc.”

A Smart Politics study of the 17 debates conducted since the field first peaked at eight candidates last fall finds moderators for the six debates conducted by CNN spoke for only 15.9% of the broadcast. By contrast, the moderators at the three FOX debates spoke for 26.2% of the time.

The Hotline notes the many disadvantages Democrats face this year in gubernatorial races around the state.

“Democrats
are defending twice as many seats — 8 to Republicans’ 4 — this cycle.
On a national level, they’ll defend those seats with less money; the
Republican Governors Association more than doubled the fundraising haul
of their Democratic counterpart last year. And Democrats will spend most
of their money on defense. Of the Republican seats up in November,
Indiana is the only realistic pickup opportunity for the blue team.”

After a recount of his petition signatures, the Indianapolis Star reports Rick Santorum will appear on the May 8 Indiana Republican primary ballot after all.

First Read updates their Electoral College scorecard which shows the presidential race moving slightly in President Obama’s favor. They give 227 electoral vote to Obama vs. 197 to the Republican candidate with 114 toss up states.

270 to Win has a nice interactive version of the same forecast. They also have an iPad version of the map.

Jon Stewart can’t believe the GOP presidential campaign is still going on.

[Read more…]

The Detroit Free Press has an interesting piece on how difficult it will be to make it look like Mitt Romney isn’t speaking to a nearly empty stadium when he gives his economic speech later today.

“The Romney campaign and the Economic Club think they’ve solved the problem. The guests will be seated at one end of the playing surface, roughly between the end zone and the 30-yard line, while Romney will speak from a stage in front of them. About 100 news media representatives and 50 or so TV cameras will set up behind the guests, so that it will be clear Romney is speaking to a crowd.”

A new Mitchell/Rosetta Stone poll in Michigan finds Mitt Romney with a small lead over Rick Santorum in the GOP presidential race, 36% to 33%, with Ron Paul at 12% and Newt Gingrich at 9%. Another 11% are still undecided.

Said pollster Steve Mitchell: “Romney has made big inroads with conservatives over the past ten days: 16% lead among Tea Party voters has been erased and he is now tied with them; his 16% lead with Evangelical Christians has now been cut in half to 8%, and Santorums 31% lead with self-identified conservatives has now been cut to 13%.”

A new Rasmussen poll shows Romney leading Santorum by six points, 40% to 34%.

A new Rasmussen survey in Arizona finds Mitt Romney solidly leading Santorum in next week’s GOP primary, 42% to 29%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 16% and Ron Paul at 8%.

“I used to be a conservative and I watch these debates and I’m wondering,
I don’t think I’ve changed, but it’s a little troubling sometimes when
people are appealing to people’s fears and emotion rather than trying to
get them to look over the horizon for a broader perspective and that’s
kind of where we are.”

— Jeb Bush, quoted by Fox News, on the rhetoric of the Republican presidential candidates.

When asked if he might be convinced to run as a consensus candidate, Bush told CBS Dallas/Fort Worth, “Not going to happen.”

While pundits have speculated about the impact on the Republican
presidential nomination if Mitt Romney loses in Michigan next week, Dan Balz wonders what would happen if Romney manages to eke out a victory in the state where he was raised.

“How
much would a pair of victories be worth? Republican strategists say
that although they would restore Romney to front-runner status in the
race, they could still leave the party looking at a long nomination
battle… Even if Romney were to win Michigan and Arizona, he will face a
difficult landscape on Super Tuesday, March 6.”

“Romney certainly needs to win
Michigan to put himself back on course. But he needs victories to start
coming consistently and by healthy margins. His team is correct that
this will be a battle for delegates, but Republicans want a
standard-bearer who can do more than scratch out the nomination by
attrition. That’s why Tuesday’s contests loom so large.”

The Wall Street Journal
reports that Mitt Romney is “tapping experts in the moderate camp of
GOP economics to help him craft a meatier campaign message,” drawing
heavily from President George W. Bush’s former economic advisers.

Among
the economists advising the campaign are Glenn
Hubbard and Gregory Mankiw, who both served as chairmen of
the president’s Council of Economic Advisers in Bush’s
administration. Hubbard, who helped craft the Bush tax cuts, also
was the architect behind Romney’s latest tax initiatives.

A slew of others Bush alumni advise the Romney campaign on health, trade, regulatory and labor issues.

Eliot Spitzer is holding a fundraiser in New York for Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA), who is running for governor in Washington, the New York Post reports.

“Insiders believe Spitzer’s soiree shows he’s trying to become a political mover and shaker once again — this time as a national kingmaker… Fund-raising is also a chance for Spitzer to test the political waters without drawing too much attention locally.”

Rick Santorum’s wife granted a rare interview telling Glenn Beck that she initially had been against her husband running for president but finally concluded it was “God’s will,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Karen Santorum: “I did always feel in my heart that God had big plans for Rick. Eventually it was there, tugging at my heart. When Obamacare passed, that was it. That put the fire in my belly.”

During a live performance, Bill Maher presented a check for $1 million to a Super PAC which supports President Obama’s reelection campaign, the Hollywood Reporter reports.

Jon Huntsman may have endorsed Mitt Romney when he dropped his White House bid, but today he called for a “third party movement” to freshen up the presidential race, NBC News reports.

Said Huntsman: “Someone’s going to step up at some point and say we’ve had enough of this. The real issues are not being addressed, and it’s time that we put forward an alternative vision, a bold thinking. We might not win, but we can certainly influence the debate.”

He added: “All I can say is I’m looking at the political marketplace and the duopoly is tired and we’re stuck in a rut.”