McCain Forces Romney Off Map in Every State But Massachusetts

John McCain was yesterday working towards total domination of the Republican primary contests, hoping to make Super Tuesday decisive in his campaign for the party's nomination.

The senator from Arizona enters today's race with momentum, high-profile endorsements and a poll lead in every state voting today except for Massachusetts - where his main rival, Mitt Romney, served a single term as governor.

McCain seemed determined to force Romney off the map even in that state, yesterday adding an appearance in Boston to his tour of the northeast.

He used the stop to reaffirm his conservative credentials, which has emerged as his main weak point in a campaign for the conservative bedrock of the Republican party.

"As president of the United States, I will preserve my proud conservative Republican credentials, but I will reach across the aisle and work together for the good of this country," McCain said.

He planned to spend the evening rush hour yesterday meeting commuters at New York's Grand Central station.

Romney's strategy yesterday appeared focused on heightening conservative doubts about McCain's independent streak. While McCain has strong crossover appeal to independent voters, the senator has been under attack from rightwing chat-show hosts and Republican leaders for his rejection of punitive laws on illegal immigration and his support for apparent heresies as campaign-finance reform and global warming.

However, Romney's hopes of stopping McCain today were hampered by the patchwork of rules which govern the way the 1,023 delegates will be awarded in the 21 separate Republican contests.

McCain has a double-digit lead in states like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which award delegates on a winner-takes-all basis. He also has more delegates going into today's race - 93 compared to 77 for Romney.

Romney was hoping to offset McCain's advantage in delegate-rich California, where polls suggest he is making recent inroads. The primary rules also favor Romney because delegates are awarded on a proportional basis. After stops in Tennessee, Georgia and Oklahoma yesterday his campaign hurriedly organized a rally in Long Beach, California last night.

Romney also has been hemmed in by the continued presence of Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, who is splitting the vote of social conservatives in southern states and across the midwest.

The gap between McCain and Romney is much narrower in states such as Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri, which suggests the former Massachusetts governor could come out ahead if Huckabee were not in the equation.

Romney's frustration with Huckabee, who has failed to win a contest since Iowa, was palpable. "I think most people around the country have said, 'Okay, it's been narrowed to a two-person race,'" he told CNN.

Despite the odds, Romney was unwilling to contemplate surrender yesterday, making a swing through the southern states to the Pacific coast in an attempt to heighten conservative unease at McCain's independent streak.

"I think you're going to see a growing crescendo of Republican conservatives getting behind my candidacy. Right now that hasn't entirely happened. There are a few states where some folks are holding out for another conservative voice, but my guess is that after Tuesday, you're going to see this coalesce into an entirely a two-person race and in that setting, I think I win," Romney said yesterday during an appearance in Nashville.

Behind the scenes, Romney supporters were making an even more pointed critique of McCain's legendary independent streak with automated phone messages to voters in Missouri highlighting his legendary temper.

However, Romney, who has kept his campaign afloat by injecting millions from his personal fortune, was already being pressed yesterday whether he would continue his candidacy beyond today.