Schoen: Romney’s Invincibility Claim ‘Shaken — Perhaps Irrevocably’

Democratic pollster Doug Schoen tells Newsmax that GOP hopeful Mitt Romney failed to deliver a knockout blow in the all-important Super Tuesday contests and his “myth of invincibility has been shaken — perhaps irrevocably.”

Just as he predicted, Schoen said that Super Tuesday did not bring an end to the vitriolic GOP nomination battle, even though Romney won the key battleground state of Ohio in a narrow late-night victory over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

“The cleavages in the Republican Party get wider and wider and the popping of the champagne corks in the White House gets louder and louder,” Schoen said in an exclusive interview Tuesday night.

Despite being outspent by Romney and his super PACs, Santorum led for much of the night before succumbing to a late-night surge by Romney in the large metropolitan areas of Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Romney also scored victories in Virginia, where Santorum wasn’t on the ballot, his own state of Massachusetts, neighboring Vermont, Alaska, and Idaho.

Santorum, meanwhile, won impressive victories in North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

“Romney has the lead in delegates and a decisive lead. Whether he can maintain the same lead in public support remains to be seen,” according to Schoen.

Schoen believes that both Santorum and Romney now have the best chance of winning the GOP nomination.

“And if Newt Gingrich bowed to reality and endorsed Rick Santorum, the race would shift — and shift decisively — in the direction of the former Pennsylvania senator,” Schoen insisted.

He added that Gingrich is unlikely to drop out of the race now that his campaign scored an important Super Tuesday victory in Georgia — a state which he represented in the House for 20 years.

“What is certain to happen is that this contest will go on and on,” said Schoen. “There will be no early knockouts, no clear victories. And with Alabama and Mississippi coming up, expect two more defeats for the former governor of Massachusetts.”