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I'm not sure about the details, but I think that the Republican Party now prohibits winner-take-all rules in the early primaries (maybe those held before April 1 or some such date). That means that, at least in those states, Romney can't emulate McCain's path of getting a plurality (while several extreme right-wingers divide the batshit crazy vote) and emerging with all of the delegates.
Every four years, some analysts get all excited about the prospect of a brokered convention in one of the major parties. It would be so much fun to cover. In reality, the trend is toward earlier effective resolution of the race, not toward a convention that actually decides anything. Nevertheless, maybe this is the cycle when it really happens. If Romney remains stuck in the 25% range but no one emerges as the clear ABM (Anyone But Mitt) candidate, then it's at least conceivable that there'd be no clear majority for anyone.
What would happen? Perhaps the non-Mitts could coalesce, e.g., a Perry-Bachmann ticket with promises of Cabinet posts for various runners-up. Perhaps there'd be a Grand Coalition, joining Mitt with a conservative, one now in the race or someone else (Romney-DeMint). Or maybe the hypothetical someone else (DeMint? Pence?) would step forward and be the nominee, uniting all the conservatives behind him because there's not enough time for the scrutiny that would burst his bubble.
Back here in the real world, alas, I bet Romney will have it wrapped up by the end of April. We can dream, though.
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