California could matter in the GOP presidential race after all

◼ For months, nobody figured California Republicans would have a say in picking their party's 2012 presidential contender -- the state's June 5 primary was just too late to matter. - Oakland Tribune

But suddenly, as a volatile and vicious GOP battle barrels toward Tuesday's Florida primary, uncertainty is setting in as some pundits start to wonder: Could the Golden State's mother lode of delegates actually make a difference?

...In all, 2,286 delegates are up for grabs. A candidate needs half that plus one -- 1,144 -- to clinch the nomination at the Republican National Convention this August in Tampa, Fla.... Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina had a total of 65 delegates at stake, just a little more than the 50 in winner-take-all Florida -- and far less than California's 172.

...by the time California votes, all but six other states and territories already will have done so, and as many as 1,900 delegates -- more than 80 percent -- could be spoken for.