Huckabee secures early Super Tuesday win

Mike Huckabee won West Virginia today in the first results of Super Tuesday in the race for the White House.

Supporters of Republican front-runner John McCain flocked to the former Baptist preacher when it became clear after the first round of voting that Mitt Romney, Mr McCain’s closest rival in the polls, looked set to win.

In the second and final ballot, Mr Huckabee beat Mr Romney with 51.5% of the 1,133 delegates attending the state Republican Party’s first-ever presidential nominating convention. He took all of the state’s 18 delegates.

Mr Romney was backed by 47.4%.

Mr Romney and Mr Huckabee made personal appeals to the convention before the vote, but Mr McCain did not.

Beth Myers, Mr Romney’s campaign manager, said: “Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain’s inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney’s campaign of conservative change.

“Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues.

“This is why he led on today’s first ballot.

“Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party.”

Elsewhere, millions of Americans in more than 20 states were still casting their votes and record turn-outs were expected in the most significant day of the presidential campaign so far.

Polls in most states close at midnight GMT, but winners in the crucial state of California are not expected to be known until tomorrow morning.

California and Massachusetts will be key to the Republican race for the party’s nomination.

Mr McCain’s lead in California, whose governor Arnold Schwarzenegger backed him last week, has narrowed recently and a win for Mr Romney in the largest US state would leave him unlikely to pull out of the race any time soon – regardless of any other results.

In a sign of Mr McCain’s growing confidence, the Arizona senator has been campaigning in Mr Romney’s home state of Massachusetts.

A McCain win there, along with victory in California, is likely to spell the end for Mr Romney’s presidential aspirations in this campaign.

In the Democratic contest, all eyes will again be on delegate-rich California.

If Illinois senator Barack Obama can win in California, where he enjoyed a late surge in the polls to tie the state with Hillary Clinton, it will be a significant blow to her campaign.

Along with California, Massachusetts, New York, Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico will all be key.

Senator Ted Kennedy’s recent endorsement of Mr Obama could help him in Massachusetts, where the former First Lady once had a comfortable lead in the polls, and an Obama win in her home state of New York, or neighbouring New Jersey, would raise serious questions about her electability in November.

Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico could go either way, as the pair are close in the polls.

As to who is supporting who, the results of Georgia and New York will show who is winning the African-American vote, while New York and California will offer an insight into Latino voters.

Mr Obama’s performance in Alabama will give a clearer indication of his support among Southern white voters.