From Canton, Ohio -
Super Tuesday might not be so Super for Rick Santorum here in the Buckeye State even if he wins the popular vote in Ohio, because he won't be eligible for as many as 18 GOP delegates, as his organization failed to file full delegate slates for the ballot.
It was known that Santorum had come up empty in three different congressional districts in Ohio already, for a total of nine delegates - but news broke over the weekend that there were other holes in his slates in the Buckeye State as well.
Mitt Romney's campaign immediately jumped on the story, labeling it a "delegate debacle" and happily pointing out to reporters all of the headlines describing the troubles.
At this point, it looks like Santorum is already ineligible for 18 of the 63 delegates in Ohio at the congressional district level, but - and here is an important point - if he does win that district, the delegates would go into the 'uncommitted' category, rather than to another GOP candidate like Romney.
Santorum already has an empty slate of delegates in Tennessee, but I was told a few weeks ago by state party officials in the Volunteer State that if Santorum wins delegates, he will get them.
The stories were a reminder that when it comes to organization, the top two campaigns have definitely been Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum failing to get on the ballot in Virginia; Santorum is also not on the ballot in Washington, D.C., and only recently was put back on in Indiana.
It is a reminder of just how tricky it can be to run for the President, as you are confronted by all kinds of different ballot and delegate rules around the country.
And, if you aren't well organized, it can trip you up.
For example, polling shows that if Santorum were on the ballot in Virginia, he would be giving Mitt Romney a run for his money.
Instead, Romney might be able to win all of Virginia's 49 delegates, since he only faces Ron Paul. One poll had Romney getting close to 70 percent of the vote in the Old Dominion.
Tomorrow, I'll set up all the pertinent delegate rules for Super Tuesday.
One final thing on Santorum - his election night party will be in Steubenville, Ohio; that city is in a congressional district where Santorum didn't get any delegates on the ballot.
Details, details. A campaign for the White House is about more than just shaking hands.
