GOP Primary Predictor: How Will the Chaotic Contest End?

Our interactive app lets you decide how the remaining contests will play out.

As “front-runner” Mitt Romney continues to underperform, the fight for delegates in the GOP primary has turned epic. With this interactive tool, you can fill in what you think the results of the remaining contests will be and share your predictions. What happens to Romney’s lead if Rick Santorum or Ron Paul does well in Louisiana or Wisconsin? Where might Newt grab more delegates? It’s still anybody’s game—and you can game out any scenario you like. To get started, just click on a state and assign delegates (because remember, it’s delegates, not percentages, that ultimately determine the nominee) to each candidate. Help rescue the GOP from total chaos.

How does this thing work?

Other frequently asked questions

Loading . . .

FAQ

Q: Why am I picking delegates, not vote percentages?

A: Think of it like the Electoral College: It’s delegates who eventually pick the nominee, and a candidate has to get 1,143 to win. States have varying rules for allotting those delegates, but with the exception of a few winner-take-all spots (Delaware, DC, Florida, Georgia, Montana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wisconsin), it’s usually safe to assume that delegates will go to the candidates in roughly the proportion of the vote. Want to learn more? Richard Berg-Andersson’s Green Papers blog is a great place to start; Frontloading HQ, a blog run by political scientist Josh Putnam, is another good source if you really want the nitty-gritty.

Q: What about the whole momentum thing?

Definitely key—and you can simulate it by entering multiple state predictions. Think Rick Santorum’s Iowa surge will carry into New Hampshire? Guessing he’ll galvanize conservatives in South Carolina but flame out by Super Tuesday? Game it all the way out.

Q: Will you update the results?

Absolutely. For each primary, we’ll enter the Associated Press’ numbers as soon as the state is called and update with the official results once they are released.

Q: What about candidates who drop out?

A: Their delegate count up to that point will be reflected in the totals on the left, but they’ll be taken off the prediction tool. So for example, you won’t be assigning delegates to Michele Bachmann.

Q: What’s up with Virginia?

A: Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry failed to qualify for the Virginia primary, but they’re contesting the decision. You can include them in this primary or not, based on what you think will happen.

Q: Why were my results for Ohio and Georgia off?

A: Since first publishing our predictor, new information came out that changed the number of delegates in certain states and their winner takes all status, and we didn’t update Ohio and Georgia in time. We’ve now updated all of the states, and we’ll do our best to stay as up-to-date as possible with this constantly evolving information. 

Q: Are you doing any other election coverage?

Glad you asked! 

Q: Okay, think I’ll give it a shot. So how exactly does this thing work?

how to use this tool

Sources: GreenPapers.com, Frontloading HQ, Associated Press

Front page image: Brian Gielczyk/Shutterstock; Gage Skidmore/Flickr

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate