The votes are in, and Florida Republicans have spoken: John McCain is their choice for the nomination.

McCain being the big winner, Giuliani was the big loser. Rudy was hoping for tonight to be his big break and the main entry into this race, his chance to break late as a top-tier candidate. But after losing big behind both McCain and Romney, the race has become virtually two-sided between these two. A blog rumored that Rudy was going to drop out, maybe as early as tomorrow, and throw his endorsement behind his "friend" McCain. While I still think it is premature to count Rudy completely out, his real chances vaporized tonight. A possible future move for him is as McCain's running mate, in exchange for his early departure and endorsement.

Mitt Romney was the surprise tonight. Just a week ago, he was down several points in the polls to even Giuliani. But he rebounded, even topping McCain yesterday for a little while. He has been within one point of McCain for the past few days. This is significant for a northern newcomer.

John McCain is the clear frontrunner after tonight, but Republicans have not decided. This is a battle about the future of this party, and it is coming down to electability vs. conservatism. While a McCain win would guarantee a Republican White House (and therefore protect us from the disasters of a Democrat president), a Romney win would guarantee the conservative leadership of our party and he could still win nationally. I do not want to see the Reagan coalition fail, as it most surely will under McCain.

Next stop: America. February 5th, is virtually a national primary, as 22 states take to the polls to choose a candidate. We should know who will be running in November after that night (provided there is no brokered convention in either party).

Tonight is the Michigan primary election for the Republicans. Mitt Romney holds a nearly 3 point lead over John McCain according to the latest RCP average, but of course anything can happen. What I'm more interested is what the media has been proclaiming will be the fallout for Romney depending on this election.

After Iowa, commentators stated that Romney suffered a devastating loss that could only be saved by a win in New Hampshire. After coming second in New Hampshire, he is still alive and well. In fact, he actually has the most delegates of all the Republicans. Now all I am hearing is that Romney needs to win in Michigan to have any chance.

How much longer will this go on? Once we get into the closed primaries, I think the race will truly begin to take shape. Michigan and NH are both open, meaning Independents and even Democrats can vote for GOP candidates. And if you watch McCain and Huckabee in the debates, it's as if they are targeting more liberal voters. This strategy will work for now, but once the closed primaries begin, candidates like Romney, Giuliani, and Thompson are going to do better as they campaign for conservative Republicans.

The point is, don't discount Romney or even Rudy at this point. A late break is even possible, though unlikely, for Thompson, after an incredible performance at the SC debate. Hell, he got my primary vote just for that. It'll be interesting to watch!