Net Results

The Clinton-Obama race is getting the lion's share of attention, of course, but we're also keeping an eye on how well John McCain does tonight in Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island -- and whether he will clear the "magic number" of 1,191 delegates needed to clinch the Republican presidential nomination (campaign manager Rick Davis said Feb. 13 that his goal was to clinch today). McCain has already won in Vermont, where he won all 17 delegates that were at stake in that "winner-take-all" primary.

The networks have also declared McCain the winner in Ohio, where he won all 31 "at-large" delegates that were at stake. The winner of each of Ohio's 18 congressional districts wins all of that district's delegates. McCain will probably beat Mike Huckabee handily in Ohio, so it's possible that McCain will win all 18 congressional districts and sweep all of the Ohio Republican delegates.

McCain becoming the Republican presidential nominee is a matter of "when" and not "if." But he would like to be recognized as the official Republican nominee as soon as possible; Republican strategists surely would like the contrast between a Republican Party that has rallied behind their standard-bearer and a Democratic Party that may need more time to determine its nominee.