Breaking Down the Delegate Dance, Part II

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Republicans squawk about delegate counts, but few people seem to understand the math.

Ahead of Missouri's weekend caucuses, Mitt Romney has received 495 delegates, while Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul each sit with 252, 131 and 48, respectively, according to The Associated Press.

With Wyoming, Kansas, Hawaii, Alabama and Mississippi contests having concluded in the last week, 1,358 delegates remain up for grabs from 24 states, a U.S. territory and the District of Columbia.

Four more contests loom in the next week with 190 more delegates available. Here's a breakdown of what to expect in the near-term. Rules are according to thegreenpapers.com.

Missouri, March 15 - 24

Missouri has 52 delegates at stake as the state breaks up its delegate allocation into a three-step process.

First, From March 15 through March 24, Missouri holds county caucuses to select delegates who will attend the congressional district conventions and the state convention. The Missouri Republican Party determines the number of delegates per county caucus. Counties don't have to consider the results of Missouri's February "beauty contest" primary, and there is no formal system for selected delegates' presidential preference. This means that each county determines its own rules as to whether or not a person who runs for delegate must publicly disclose his or her choice for the nomination.

Second, congressional district conventions take place on April 21 in order to select 24 of the state's 52 national delegates from the pool of delegate candidates chosen at the county caucuses. There are eight congressional districts, and each district elects three national delegates. Before the district convention begins, each candidate who wants to be selected for the national convention discloses his or her presidential preference. Convention participants then vote for the individual delegate candidates. Once elected to the national convention, Missouri's district delegates may switch allegiance.