◼ Is it too late for a new candidate to enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination? Absolutely not. Is it probable? No. - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner
There are three ways a still-unannounced candidate could end up being the nominee.
One option would be to fight for every delegate possible, including the 252 caucus- state delegates listed above. There are another 520 delegates up for grabs in states whose filing deadlines come after Super Tuesday. That’s almost 800 delegates potentially still up for grabs, more than enough to force a contested convention.
Another option would be to let Santorum and Ron Paul pile up delegates, thus forcing a contested convention, and then only pick one or two states to contest before heading into the convention. California, where 172 delegates are at stake, doesn’t vote until June 5th. Its filing deadline is March 23rd.
A final option would be to wait and hope that none of the current contenders is able to gain a convention majority. At that point, party power brokers may decide a fresh face, even one who had not won a single primary, might be the party’s best hope. There is no rule requiring the eventual nominee to have won any delegates before the convention.
