By ADW Staff Writers & Reports
Republican presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich won big in Georgia on Super Tuesday with a little less than 50 percent of the votes, with Gov. Mitt Romney coming in second.
Former House Speaker Gingrich won twice as many delegates as his GOP rivals who all vowed to remain in the race. Voters also overwhelmingly approved the extension of the one-cent option sales tax for water improvements.
The win — which Gingrich had to have to survive — gives his struggling campaign some momentum going into contests in Kansas, Alabama and Mississippi on March 13. The only other state Gingrich has taken is South Carolina, back in January.
His decisive win in the Peach State will bolster his case of being the favored candidate of the South, though he did not win Tennessee, which went to Rick Santorum.
Gov. Romney won a tight contest in Ohio with Rick Santorum, and won Idaho, Alaska, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Virginia among others. Santorum won Tennessee, Oklahoma, and North Dakota, according to AP reports. Romney has politely encouraged rivals to fold, vowing he is going to get the GOP nomination for president.
Romney has the most delegates, with 415. Santorum has 176 delegates, Gingrich has 105 delegates, and Ron Paul, the other GOP candidate, has 47 delegates. The number of delegates needed to win the GOP nomination for president is 1,144. The unpledged delegates from the Republican National Committee (RNC) is 37.
Incumbent President Barack Obama ran unopposed Super Tuesday in most states, including Georgia, for the 2012 Democratic presidential nomination. He is expected to receive all Democratic Party votes. Speaking at the Waverly Hotel Super Tuesday night, Gingrich thanked his supporters and praised his victory.
The Municipal Option Sales Tax (MOST) was extended by voters on Tuesday. The special tax is used to fund ongoing federally mandated upgrades and maintenance of the city’s water and sewer system.
The MOST is a one-cent tax that applies to most goods purchased in the city of Atlanta. The funds allow visitors and business people who use the city’s water and sewer infrastructure, but who do not pay city water/sewer bills, to help pay for upgrades and maintenance.
“I would like to thank the citizens of the city of Atlanta for overwhelmingly supporting the MOST vote,” said Atlanta City Council President Ceasar C. Mitchell. This is not a new tax. It is the re-authorization of an existing tax. The MOST was initially approved in 2004 and re-authorized by voters in 2008.
About Post Author
