How the RNC's new delegate rules favor Romney

The national party is requiring states that hold March contests to award delegates proportionally, meaning a first-place finish doesn’t guarantee the whole bag. Winner-take-all states can’t vote until April. The arrangement is designed to slow the flow of delegates to a trickle, unlike the fast floods typical of modern-day nominating contests that render the late-voting states irrelevant…

“That’s a Perry day,” Putnam said of the March 6 contests featuring Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, which will be followed closely by even more Southern states such as Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Here’s the catch: Even if Perry sweeps the South in March, his lead could be limited by the proportional allocation of delegates in those states. By April, when the winner-takes-all option kicks in, the race heads to Northeastern states closer to Romney’s home turf.