Presidential Candidate, McLean Resident Wins Georgia on Super Tuesday

Republican presidential candidate and McLean neighbor Newt Gingrich won Tuesday's primary in Georgia, his adopted state.

Leading presidential contender Mitt Romney won Virginia where only he and Texas Cong. Ron Paul appeared on the ballot.

Georgia and Virginia were among 10 states holding a primary or caucus Tuesday. Gingrich came in third or fourth in the other races, according to the New York Times. He didn't even qualify for the ballot in Virginia.

Gingrich, who was born in Harrisburg, Pa., was elected to Congress from Georgia in 1978. He was elected Speaker in 1994 when Republicans took control of the U.S. House. He resigned from Congress in 1999. Gingrich's only other primary win was in South Carolina.

Meanwhile Tuesday night,  Great Falls resident Rick Santorum won contests in North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Gingrich, during most of his victory speech in Georgia, talked about his feud with the Republican Party. “The national elite especially in the Republican party has decided a Gingrich candidacy was too dangerous and they had to kill it,” he told his supporters.

It's always curious to hear a well-known Republican politician who lives in McLean talk about "elites." Many of the best-known names in the Republican establishment live in McLean including Fred Malek, Dick Cheney, Pat Buchanan, Ed Rogers and Bill Kristol.

Primaries are really about winning delegates. A Republican needs 1,444 delegates to win the party's presidential nomination at their national convention in Tampa.

According to the Huffington Post: Gingrich has 75. Santorum 139. Romney 332.

Gingrich said he now heads to Alabama and Mississippi.