Romney wins Maine Caucus and CPAC Straw Poll

Note: See this post on why the results show only 84% reporting.

Mitt Romney took 2 non-binding contests today, only one of which will lead to some delegates down the road. Maine Republicans finished a week long caucus process Saturday which culminated in Mitt Romney winning the top spot with Ron Paul punching in a close 2nd.

Report from CBS News:

Mitt Romney won the lightly-attended Maine Republican caucuses Saturday, reclaiming the momentum that he lost when Rick Santorum swept three states on Tuesday.

“I thank the voters of Maine for their support,” Romney said in a statement. “I’m committed to turning around America. And I’m heartened to have the support of so many good people in this great state.”

Romney won 39 percent of the vote, with 2,190 votes. He narrowly edged out the other candidate who seriously contested the Maine caucuses, Ron Paul, who won 36 percent of the vote with 1,996 votes.

There were 972,181 registered voters in Maine as of November 8 of last year, including 269,604 Republicans.
Paul, who is focused on small caucuses states like Maine, is the only candidate in the race who has yet to win a state. Romney and Santorum have now each won four states, while Newt Gingrich has won one.

In remarks following the announcement of Romney’s victory, Paul noted that not every caucus had taken place, saying there was one in particular that he expected to win that had yet to occur.

“It’s almost like we could call it a tie, but anyway,” said Paul.

As an annual tradition, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) holds a presidential straw poll which, in recent years, has been dominated by Ron Paul. This year was a bit different with Mitt Romney also taking the top spot, report from Fox News:

Mitt Romney won the presidential straw poll Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an unofficial endorsement from party activists that nevertheless helps the former Massachusetts governor burnish his conservative image.

The Republican presidential candidate won with 38 percent of the vote at the Washington conference, the leading annual meet-up of American conservatives. The victory breaks a two-year winning streak by Ron Paul.

The results, though, showed Rick Santorum gaining traction among party faithful. The former Pennsylvania senator, who won three primary and caucus contests on Tuesday, came in second with 31 percent.

Newt Gingrich was third with 15 percent, and Paul came in fourth with 12 percent.

Cheers broke out at the conference when the results were unveiled, a sign of the robust pro-Romney contingent in the audience. The results came in as the GOP candidates competed on the final day of the Republican caucuses in Maine — Romney was later declared the winner of that contest, narrowly edging out Paul.

This will be a needed bounce for Mitt Romney still smarting from a three-state loss this past Tuesday. Ron Paul gave a solid 2nd place showing in Maine but it will be tough for him heading into the upcoming primary states since caucuses are his strong suit.