Our friends at Fox News have posted a great primer of how the delegate math works for Alabama and Mississippi this evening. These states aren’t terribly complex compared to some, but the math isn’t simple representative wins by district or percentage either. There’s more to it than simple statewide vote totals. It has combinations of district thresholds, open delegates, and winner take all provisions. Confused? See below
Alabama Republican Primary
— 50 delegates
— 21 are awarded from the state’s seven congressional districts, three per district (outright majority wins all three district delegates, plurality win gets two, with one for the runner-up)
— 26 are awarded proportionately based on statewide vote share (winner-take-all above 50 percent)
— Three Republican National Committee members go to convention as automatic, unbound delegates.
Of course, the specific delegate math is not really all that important at this point — practically speaking, nobody but Romney is going to get the nomination (although I might be saying something different if Santorum had taken Ohio), even if it’s not mathematically clinched. Now what counts is momentum, and how soon Santorum and Gingrich can be persuaded to call it a day.