The
Arizona Republican Primary - 5th February witnessed John McCain surge ahead of his fellow Republicans in the elections for the nomination of potential candidates for the presidency of the United States. McCain emerged as the clear winner as he managed to secure 48 % of the total votes in the state. McCain acquired 213,461 votes in the elections which saw a turnout of 93% the precincts. Mitt Romney finished second with 154,071 votes thereby acquiring 34% of the popular votes. Mc Cain won the contest with a margin of 59,390 votes over his closest contender, Mitt Romney.
Other Republican candidates hardly managed to make a mark as Mike Huckabee acquired 40,497 votes, Ron Paul 19,160 votes and
Rudy Giuliani 12,158 votes. By registering a clear victory, John McCain managed to ensure the support of 50 pledged delegates at the National Convention for the final election. The remaining 3 are unpledged RNC member delegates.
John McCain's victory in the Republican Primary at Arizona, held on 5th February, may be attributed to the fact that the state happens to be his home ground. The state has a total of 3,107,462 registered voters. Of these 37% are inclined towards the Republicans while 33% show their allegiance for the Democratic Party. Exit poll studies have revealed that the party has had its supporters amongst the senior citizens of the state, people over 60 years of age. Major share of the votes, about 42%, are from this section of the population. Mc Cain also enjoyed the support of 37% women voters and 29% of the evangelical Christians.
Following the declaration of results, John McCain addressed an optimistic bunch of Arizonians at the state capital of Phoenix and seemed to be quite confident about his chances in the final rounds.
