Huckabee's last chance to win

Mitt Romney just dropped out of the race for president, giving Mike Huckabee his only shot at winning the Republican nomination.

After Super Tuesday I told my wife that I thought Huckabee still had a shot, as long as McCain didn't win the majority of delegates. How?

Look no further than West Virginia for how it would work. They nominate a candidate at their state convention, not through a primary or caucus. The candidate who receives their nomination must win a majority of votes from all of the delegates present. Romney led after the first round of voting, with Huckabee in second and McCain in third. However, Romney didn't have a majority, so a second round of voting ensued. McCain's supporters switched to support Huckabee and he was able to garner a majority of support and win.

Similarly, all of Romney's delegates are now free-for-alls. Those votes will have to be given to either McCain or Huckabee at the Republican National Convention. Romney and Huckabee have been considered to be more conservative than McCain (though I think there's an argument as to how true that really is), and it's very possible that a bulk of Romney's delegate votes at the national convention could go to Huckabee. If that's the case, he could secure the nomination.

Huckabee's odds of winning are still slim to none and the race is seen as a virtual win for John McCain. However, if Huckabee can perform well in the next few primaries (as in, he has to win them), he could still be in this thing.