GOP candidates sprint toward Super Tuesday

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- John McCain is not expected to win all 21 U.S. state GOP presidential nominating contests Tuesday, but analysts say a good showing may give him clear momentum.

McCain, the Arizona senator who leads other Republicans in national polls and in many delegate-rich states comprising Super Tuesday, has seen a campaign resurgence after being nearly counted out just weeks ago, The Arizona Republic reported Sunday.

His first-place finishes in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, have helped crown him the GOP front-runner.

"I don't think anybody has to rush to call it game, set and match, but it's clear that McCain has the advantage," Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, told the newspaper.

McCain's rivals are also targeting early-voting states, including Illinois, New York, California and Connecticut.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney, for instance, is targeting his home state of Massachusetts and in Utah, where he is well-known for his Mormon faith and work on the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, is courting voters in his home state, along with Georgia, Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee

Also pushing for Super Tuesday victories is Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who polls nationally in the single digits, the newspaper reported.