Leading article: Not an altogether Super Tuesday for Mitt Romney

Super Tuesday could certainly have gone worse for Mitt Romney, front-runner in the race to become the Republicans' presidential candidate. The former Massachusetts Governor did, after all, scoop six of the 10 available states, albeit winning by just a single percentage point in that all-important bellwether, Ohio.

But while Mr Romney may still be out in front, this week's multiple ballots provided nothing like the turn of speed he so desperately needs. That his rivals are still snapping at his heels – despite his deeper pockets and slicker campaign team – is testament to the degree of mistrust Mr Romney provokes in the Republican base. Meanwhile, the Christian conservative Rick Santorum continues to make progress.

And so, with everything up for grabs, attention is focusing on Saturday's caucus in Kansas. For all Mr Romney's extra delegates, the real winner on Super Tuesday was Barack Obama.