Full Super Tuesday coverage with live results, analysis and blog | The states to watch

John McCain appears increasingly confident of clinching the Republican nomination in today's nationwide “Super Tuesday” contest, a swagger that is giving some aides last-minute jitters in the face of a determined rearguard fight by Mitt Romney.

Riding the momentum of consecutive wins in South Carolina and Florida, and racking up scores of endorsements by the hour, Mr McCain is talking as if he has already won the presidential nomination, despite new polls showing Mr Romney fighting back strongly in California.

In campaign appearances yesterday, Mr McCain — who has a commanding lead in national polls and in New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Illinois and Arizona, his home state — barely mentioned Mr Romney, focusing instead on Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. On Sunday he declared: “The first thing we've got to do after Tuesday is unite this party.” Later he said: “I assume that I will get the nomination of the party.”

He is travelling to Germany this weekend for the Nato summit despite there being three more Republican contests on Saturday and three on February 12.

Mr McCain is assisted further because delegates in most Republican primary and caucus states are awarded on a winner-takes-all basis. There are 1,023 up for grabs today in 21 contests, and he is in a commanding position, a remarkable comeback for a candidate written off six months ago.

Mr Romney is refusing to cede the contest and his aides, buoyed up by new polls in California and Georgia, insist there is still a path to the nomination. One of the keys to his strategy is to build upon a backlash among conservatives against the prospect of a McCain coronation. Many distrust the Arizona senator because of his stances on immigration, taxes and political funding, and are rallying to block him.

Two new polls put Mr Romney ahead in California, although the state does not award its 173 delegates on a winner-takes-all basis, but district by district. Mr McCain made an unscheduled, last-minute stop in California as the race tightened there.

Mr Romney is also focusing on caucus states such as Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia. A complicating factor is Mike Huckabee, the winner of Iowa, who, by staying in the race, is denying him votes in the South.

Mr McCain's aides acknowledge that if he does capture the nomination he will struggle to translate the authenticity he creates with his intimate town hall style — the key to his success — into a national campaign. He is already chafing against the necessity of nationwide television commercials and the harshly lit venues that will dominate a general election.

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