The Virginia primary is set for Super Tuesday, March 6, and is a two-man race between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Those two GOP presidential hopefuls were the only candidates whose campaigns were able to get on the ballot for this contest, despite legal challenges by the other candidates, as reported by The Washington Post last month.
Red Alert Politics reported Feb. 14 that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's supporters in the state were being urged by an email from Newt Gingrich 360 (not linked to Gingrich's campaign) to support Paul since write-in candidates aren't allowed.
Here's some practical information to keep in mind regarding the Old Dominion State's upcoming GOP matchup.
* Some 49 delegates are at stake, of which 46 are bound. The other three are unbound, according to Free Republic.
* Of the 46 bound delegates, if either Paul or Romney gets more than 50 percent statewide support, that person gets 13 delegates straight away. As for the other 33 delegates, the winner of each of the state's 11 congressional districts gets all three delegates contained in each of those districts, as reported by The Daily Caller.
* This contest is an open primary. The state doesn't track party affiliations of registered voters.
* Those who are currently 17 years old can vote in this primary as long as they will be 18 years old by the next general election, which is November 6.
* The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot by mail is 5 p.m. on February 28. The last day that a registered Virginia voter can vote in-person before the primary is March 3.
* Those who are 65 and older or who have a disability can vote curbside, though the election officials have to be able to see the voting equipment, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.
* The State Column reported on a Christopher Newport University/Richmond Times-Dispatch poll released Tuesday that was taken of Virginia voters. It showed that Romney is ahead of Paul by a 53 percent to a 23 percent tally.
* Males make up 49.1 percent of the state's population. Whites make up the largest ethnic group at 68.6 percent, while blacks are the largest minority group at 19.4 percent. Hispanics/Latinos make up 7.9 percent of Virginia's population, per the 2010 U.S. Census.
* Four years ago, Arizona Sen. John McCain won the primary with 50 percent of the votes, while Paul finished third with 4.5 percent and Romney got fourth place with 3.7 percent of the votes.
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