With a recent sweep in the Potomac primaries, Sen. John McCain is moving closer to securing the nomination for the Republican Party. In sweeping Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., McCain dealt a huge blow to former Gov. Mike Huckabee, his last major opponent for the nomination.
With the momentum clearly in McCain's favor, key conservative figures from around the country have begun to call for Huckabee to withdraw his candidacy for president. Fixed on achieving the impossible, Huckabee has vowed to march on.
While there is certainly a vibrant optimism on the surface of the Huckabee campaign in "giving conservatives a choice," in reality all he is doing is slowing McCain's ability to launch a national campaign to capitalize on the drawn-out democratic contest.
With much to be decided in Texas, even if McCain is not the ideal candidate to many, he is going to be the Republican Party's nominee. With Republicans facing two of the most formidable Democratic candidates in decades, it is crucial for Republicans to unite behind one candidate who will have the best chance of winning and who will best represent their values and agendas.
In losing the last few primaries, it has become mathematically impossible for Huckabee to win the required number of delegates to secure the Republican nomination.
He now needs to win a staggering 950 delegates to attain the required number. The overlooked dilemma facing his campaign is that there are only 774 delegates that remain. He has to win 123 percent of remaining delegates.
Huckabee's claim of giving conservatives a true choice would have been legitimate six to 12 months ago. Now that conservatives have all but made their choice, he is hurting them more than he is helping.
As Mitt Romney reasoned, dragging out the campaign to the convention would only assist the Democratic nominee in defeating the Republican nominee. Just as Romney, who had more money, more delegates and higher polling numbers reached that decision, it is time for Huckabee to reach a similar one.
With Texas being Huckabee's potential last stand, conservatives should do themselves a favor: Focus on the long term and support McCain despite his occasional misstep in regard to various conservative standards. It is going to be a McCain and what seems to be an increasingly probable Barack Obama contest come November.
Gov. Huckabee, you have achieved the impossible in lasting this long. You have become a national figure with which to be reckoned. You have achieved party prominence.
Yet now, the time has come for you to follow the lead of Gov. Romney and heed the advice of former President George H. W. Bush, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and dozens of other conservatives around the country who are calling for you to drop out.
Any further efforts to promote yourself would legitimize those who claim you are solely in the race at this point for self-promotion rather than the good of the party and nation. By dropping out, you may just give the Republicans a reason to be cautiously optimistic about their chances in the November election.
Brad Knott is a student at Baylor University.
