As much as anything else, the schedule for the Republicans running for the White House will drive their race for the GOP nomination, so let's take a look at what's on tap in coming weeks.
MISSOURI - The Show Me State holds caucuses this Saturday, but the 49 delegates up for grabs won't start being doled out until April 21, with the rest being handed out in early June. Remember that Rick Santorum won a huge victory in a non-binding beauty contest primary in February - but don't look for any results this weekend, because there won't be any to issue.
PUERTO RICO - Don't give these kind of caucuses the back of the hand, as Mitt Romney has run up a decent number of delegates by winning U.S. territories like Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. 20 delegates are stake here on Sunday; Rick Santorum is in Puerto Rico for a second day today, Romney will start a two day visit on Friday.
ILLINOIS - Suddenly, Illinois is looking like a pivotal primary, much like Michigan and Ohio were in recent weeks, with the pressure squarely on Mitt Romney to win next Tuesday March 20. While Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul have stumped in the Land of Lincoln in recent days, they were far back in a poll out this week from the Chicago Tribune; it had Romney leading Santorum by just a few points. One big problem for Santorum is that he does not have full delegate slates on the ballot. 54 delegates are up for grabs.
LOUISIANA - Rick Santorum held his election night party on Tuesday this week in Louisiana for a reason, as he wanted to get a jump start on the Bayou State. But while there might be areas of Louisiana that are like Mississippi and Alabama, it's a much more complicated landscape than that. 20 delegates are at stake on Saturday March 24.
After Louisiana, we enter a quieter period in the GOP race, much like the slow time we had in February. There are only two primary days in the entire month of April.
APRIL 3 - The first Tuesday of the month, just a few days before Easter, will offer three contests in Maryland (37 delegates), Washington, D.C. (16) and Wisconsin (42).
Santorum is not on the ballot in the District of Columbia; I haven't seen any polling in Maryland, but the Free State just seems like it would trend more towards Romney like D.C.
Wisconsin though might be a different story, as Santorum has held leads in recent polls in the Badger State.
APRIL 21 - Missouri hands out 24 of its 52 delegates in Congressional district conventions.
APRIL 24 - The last Tuesday of the month could be one that gives Mitt Romney a chance for a winning night, as the lay of the election landscape would seem to be much more favorable for him in this set of five primaries.
New York (81 delegates), Connecticut (25), Rhode Island (16) and Delaware (17) seem ready made for a Romney advantage, while Pennsylvania (81 delegates) could be the Santorum firewall on that same night - his home state. Romney has already been rolling out lower level endorsements in the Keystone State in recent days, but polling indicates Santorum has a strong lead where he was a Congressman and Senator.
If the Republican race is still chugging along after April 24, then the map explodes again across the country, and would seem to provide Rick Santorum with the chance for a series of victories, as May brings four straight Tuesdays of primary action for Republicans:
May 8 - North Carolina (52 delegates), West Virginia (28) and Indiana (27)
May 15 - Nebraska (32) and Oregon (25)
May 22 - Kentucky (42) and Arkansas (33)
May 29 - Texas (155)
A poll out from Texas the other day showed Santorum with the lead; it's a state that Newt Gingrich has talked about winning, as he has the support of former candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. But like in many polls these days, Gingrich finds himself in third place, far back of Santorum and Romney.
June 2 - Missouri awards 25 more delegates in the state GOP convention.
June 5 - If we get to June in the Republican race with no delegate majority in sight, then it will be a wild first Tuesday of the month, with the big prize being the Golden State of California, with 155 delegates. Also that day, New Jersey (50), Montana (26), South Dakota (25) and New Mexico (20).
June 26 - No kidding, there is one last state, as Utah offers 40 Republican delegates.
There's your map for the Republican nomination.
My travel schedule remains in flux, but hopefully I can catch some of the candidates around Washington, D.C. and Maryland in early April and then head up into Pennsylvania and the northeast for April 24.
After that, it's anyone's guess - West Virginia and North Carolina on May 8?
Maybe a flight to Omaha for Nebraska on May 15? A quick run to Louisville or Little Rock on May 22?
And don't forget about Texas on May 29.
Then there's the big day with California; but I sure would like to stop through Bismarck or Billings on the way out West.
Finally, I've never been to Utah - why not a trip to see what happens with the GOP nomination?
Four years ago we said that Obama and Clinton would never go until June. They did.
There is no way the Republicans will go to Tampa without a nominee locked in for their convention, right?
