Party Rules Help McCain, Roil Race for Democrats

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Romney and Huckabee can keep their hopes alive by splitting the vote with McCain in four other states this month that do not have winner-take-all rules and trying to catch a wave of momentum before four more contests on March 4. That's when another substantial portion of delegates is up for grabs, including a chunk in Texas, and a mostly winner-take-all chunk in Ohio.

Should the Republican and Democratic contests remain undecided after the Mississippi primaries on March 11, the candidates will have six weeks to campaign anew without a primary or caucus. The Democratic rules make it likely that the nomination battle will last at least until April 22, when Pennsylvania holds its primaries.

Every Democratic caucus and primary apportions delegates partly based on the percentage of votes received by candidates, but there is a twist. About two-thirds of delegates are awarded depending on votes within congressional districts, and one-third are awarded as at-large delegates based on the entire statewide vote.

That means that Clinton, despite being crushed by a 2 to 1 voting margin by Obama in Georgia, still could take close to a third of the 87 delegates available there.

The magic number for the Democratic nomination is 2,025 delegates. Neither candidate appeared to be halfway toward that total after yesterday's balloting. "Nobody's predicting what's going to happen," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a Clinton supporter, said of her state's caucuses on Saturday.

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.