La., Kan. losses underline thin support among religious, social conservatives

Just as Senator John McCain appeared poised to become the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, he was reminded over the weekend that many Republican voters still have not climbed aboard his bandwagon.

Mr. McCain, who won enough delegates in the coast-to-coast nominating contests on Tuesday to place him mathematically beyond the reach of his Republican rivals, suffered embarrassing losses in the Louisiana primary and the Kansas caucuses on Saturday to former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.

Mr. Huckabee, who brags that in college “I didn’t major in math, I majored in miracles,” also wrestled Mr. McCain to a virtual draw on Saturday in the Washington State caucuses. Party officials declared Mr. McCain the winner by several hundred votes.

The Huckabee campaign announced Sunday on its Web site that it would challenge the results of the Washington caucuses. At issue are 1,500 votes that the Huckabee campaign says were not counted.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23104617/