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Rich, With Huckabee backing out of Florida, the Thompson withdrawal will help Romney in that state. However, on Super Tuesday it will help Huckabee win southern states. Thompson knew Huckabee was his biggest competition in South Carolina and went after Huckabee. Without Thompson, Huckabee wins South Carolina. Look for Huckabee to now win the southern states on Super Tuesday.

UPDATE

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I’m getting tired of hearing each camp claim, “No, Thompson supports MY GUY,” without citing anything except a guy feeling. Here are a couple of relevant stats with actual numbers behind them.
In SC, polled second support for Thompson cut Romney 34%, McCain 30%, Huckabee 24%.
…Thompson’s support was mostly “says what he believes” (21%) and “shares my values” (20%), which both cut for McCain (34-14) and Huckabee (31-48) (and were Romney’s worst columns, 7-12).
Basically, I think it’s a wash (and Giuliani falls further behind).

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Subject: Southern States to go for McCain
Rich:
I disagree that Fred’s exit helps Huckabee win Super Tuesday states in the South. I strongly believe John McCain will win many of those states. Huckabee’s candidacy is severely weakened following the loss in South Carolina. He’s going to finish a distant fourth in Florida and is having money troubles. Outside of Arkansas, I don’t see Huck gaining much traction in the Southern States in his weakened state. Mitt and Rudy don’t play well in the South while McCain already has a Southern win under his belt, plus good-looking poll numbers.
Check out the state polls on Realclear Politics. A recent poll shows McCain with a lead in Georgia. Others show him also running well in Oklahoma and Alabama.
I think Thompson’s departure helps McCain win more Southern state primaries, and certainly delegates.