In the battle for delegates on Super Tuesday, North Dakota can only be described as the sort of runt of the litter. Not only does the state have the third fewest delegates of any battleground state today at 28 delegates, the caucuses that will take place will not bind delegates to any candidate. Instead, delegate election will take place at a state convention at the end of the month, much like Washington’s caucus last weekend.
Despite wishy-washiness of the process, however, candidates are still making a play for the delegates in an election where contest counts. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have all campaigned in Fargo, North Dakota.
Romney and Santorum both campaigned in the oil rich state on their energy policies – an industry that has kept the state less fazed by the recession than many of the other states. North Dakota currently has the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.3 percent. Santorum even took a tour of an oil field, He also touched on local issues such as the state’s upcoming referendum to keep the University of North Dakota’s controversial “Fighting Sioux” logo. Ron Paul has held several rallies in the state and is holding is Super Tuesday victory party in Fargo tonight.
No polls have been taken in the state, so predicting a winner in North Dakota is not an easy task. The nature of the state (rural, Christian and very conservative) seems to favor Santorum. However, the possibility remains that Romney could pull out a win anyway.
