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Party front-runners fared as expected in the Tuesday primaries, but one surprise came in the unexpected success of Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee. Approaching Super Tuesday, Many analysts dismissed a vote for Huckabee as having a more profound impact on the campaign of John McCain than anyone else. Huckabee's surprising success will not only keep him in the race, but also force fellow Republican Mitt Romney to step-up his campaign.

McCain now holds a significant lead in the race for the Republican nomination after posting key victories in many heavily contested states. Romney fared well in Massachusetts and many midwest states, while Huckabee gained a much needed victory in his home-state of Kansas.

Ron Paul, the unorthodox Republican favoring legalization of marijuana, among other radical ideas, carried victories in no states. He did, however, pull off rather surprising single digit numbers in many states.

The Republicans, who went into Tuesday hoping to narrow the field, seem to have emerged with everyone but McCain hanging on for dear life. Unless McCain sweeps the next round of primaries, it seems as though nothing will be definative until all primaries have concluded.

On the Democratic side, the seeming "deadlock" between the Clinton and Obama (the only two remaining Democratic candidates) remains unchanged. Obama pulled off a clear victory in home state Illinois, along with heavily contested Missouri among others.

Clinton followed by carrying much of the Northeast along with New York and neighboring New Jersey.

Following Super Tuesday, Clinton had a nearly 100 delegate lead over rival Obama, but this early in the primary season, who will become the Democratic nominee is still a shot in the dark. As with the Republican ticket, many hoped Tuesday's results would provide a more distinct gap between the remaining two Democratic hopefuls. Unfortunately, after Edward's withdrawl from the race, it appears no real leader will be know until future primaries conclude.

Even with Hillary's slight victory on Tuesday, no real progress was made in determining who the Democrats will nominate. A decisive victor will likely not be determined until the primaries have concluded.

Learn more about this author, Craig Simoneau.
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