Big Mo

The Race-to-December, front-loaded primary season just got weirder:

In letters that went out today, RNC Chairman Mike Duncan informed New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina and Wyoming to expect that only half of their delegates would be allowed to come to the convention.

The action was widely expected in the wake of decisions by the states to move their primaries into early January. With a few exceptions, the RNC had insisted that all contests take place between Feb. 5 and July 28.

Leaders in the five states have come to the conclusion that it’s better for their state to be more relevant by holding their nominating contests earlier. Iowa and Nevada hold contests in January, but officially select their delegates later in the year, so they were not punished.

If I understand it correctly, Rudy’s strategy pretty much hinges on hanging in until Florida, where he’s expecting a big win. But how big is a win when it’s half the win it once was?