WASHINGTON -- Arizona Sen. John McCain was grinding his way toward the Republican nomination last night with wins in the biggest states on Super Tuesday, as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee rolled up victories in the South and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney barely deflected a knockout blow.

Wins in California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois affirmed McCain's status as the probable nominee but weren't enough for him to claim that the Republican battle was over.

He did, however, say that his showing in all regions of the country had put him on a course to victory.

"Although I've never minded the role of the underdog and have relished as much as anyone come-from-behind wins, tonight I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party frontrunner for the nomination," McCain said last night. "And I don't really mind it one bit."

McCain also carried Missouri, a state considered a bellwether in national elections. But his hopes that yesterday's primaries would vanquish his opponents for good were unfulfilled, mainly because of a resurgent Huckabee.

Huckabee showed regional strength in carrying Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia and his native Arkansas, and he vowed to continue his candidacy as he reasserted his role as a conservative alternative to McCain.

"We're still on our feet," Huckabee said as he addressed supporters in Little Rock. "There's going to be one guy answering the bell every time there is a new round."

Romney won in Massachusetts and Utah, as expected, and in caucuses in Minnesota, Montana, Colorado and North Dakota. But Huckabee's victories damaged Romney's attempt to position himself as the main alternative to McCain.

Romney, too, promised that he would fight until the summer party nominating convention, saying, "One thing that is clear is this campaign is going on."

McCain spoke to his supporters last night before votes were counted in California, which delivered him Super Tuesday's largest prize of the night.

Returns and exit polls indicate that McCain has yet to fully ease concerns of immigration-reform foes and other segments of the conservative base that oppose his candidacy, giving extended life to the Romney and Huckabee candidacies.

By staying in the race, Huckabee helps McCain, siphoning votes of social conservatives away from Romney, who has courted their support, analysts said.

McCain was the choice of Republicans who said the economy, terrorism and the war in Iraq were their top concerns, exit polling indicated. Nationwide, Romney led among Republicans for whom immigration was most important.

Voters who said that they cared more about the personal qualities of a candidate rather than issues chose McCain over Romney by a wide margin.

The Northeastern states that fell to McCain were places where former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a one-time rival, had been strong.

After finishing third in Florida a week ago, Giuliani dropped out and endorsed McCain, providing assistance in places where supporters of the former mayor had tweaked the primary process so that the statewide winner claimed all delegates, not just a proportional share. Delaware also went to McCain yesterday.

By taking all of the delegates in New York and New Jersey, McCain increased his delegate count to 497 of the 1,191 needed to secure the nomination, according to incomplete results. Romney had 200 delegates and Huckabee had 141 in early returns that included earlier primaries.

In yesterday's contests, 1,023 Republican delegates were available. McCain had not won enough to capture the nomination, but it looked increasingly unlikely that there would be sufficient delegates in states voting in the weeks and months ahead to allow a comeback by Romney or Huckabee.

Last week's Florida win was McCain's first in a state where only Republicans could vote in the primary, indicating that the senator was enjoying renewed support from party regulars. His earlier primary victories were in states where independents and Democrats were allowed to vote.

The pattern was repeated yesterday. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were states where only Republicans could vote. Eleven of the 21 states holding Republican primaries or caucuses yesterday were closed to those not registered in the party.

Huckabee's strong showing in Georgia and other states dampened calls that he drop out of the race. Romney supporters have accused Huckabee of staying in primarily to aid McCain by dividing the allegiances of social conservatives.

The charges resurfaced yesterday, when Huckabee won the West Virginia convention by narrowly edging Romney, who led after the first ballot but did not have a majority. On a subsequent ballot, McCain supporters shifted to Huckabee.

Romney campaign manager Beth Myers said in a statement that McCain "cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."

Yesterday's results appeared to complete a remarkable comeback for McCain.

He entered the presidential race as an early favorite, but his fundraising lagged last year and he slipped in national polls. Out of money, he fired much of his staff and focused heavily on New Hampshire, a state he won during his previous presidential bid in 2000. His win in New Hampshire last month started his resurgence.

As the Republican field has narrowed, the race has grown increasingly bitter, with McCain accusing Romney in debates of changing his positions on important issues and Romney countering that McCain is not sufficiently conservative.

Romney said on FOX News yesterday that McCain is "very much outside the house that Reagan built" and called his positions "more like Democrats than like those of Republicans."

McCain has countered that he, not Romney, is the rightful heir to Reaganism. McCain's campaign aired a commercial this week showing a video clip of Romney saying in the 1990s that he did not want to continue Reagan-Bush policies.

Joe Cluster, national field director with GOPAC, which recruits and assists Republican candidates, said that despite the anger, McCain appeals to important groups that could help the party grow.

"Where McCain is strong is with the moderate center and the independents," said Cluster, a former political director of the Maryland Republican Party. "Do we sacrifice some on the right to gain more in the middle? That's an option."

david.nitkin@baltsun.com

The Associated Press contributed to this article.