Huckabee Scores 1st Blood With W.Va. Victory

Mike Huckabee won the first 18 delegates awarded on Super Tuesday, capturing the West Virginia convention over Mitt Romney, 557-522. The ex-Arkansas governor won the contest in the second round after John McCain voters shifted to him, irking Romney supporters. Said one Romney booster, “These are the juvenile actions of a morally bankrupt campaign.”

Romney won the first round with 40.9% of the vote to Huckabee’s 33.1%, McCain’s 15.5% and Ron Paul’s 10.4%, the Charleston Gazette reports. A candidate needs a majority to win the convention, and the second-round move by McCain voters pushed Huckabee over the top. Said a McCain supporter, “The best scenario for the McCain campaign was to not have a Romney victory here today.”