Romney Wins Maine Republican Presidential Caucus Vote

Politics   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 11, 2012   |   8:17PM   |   Augusta, ME

Mitt Romney won the state of Maine today as Republicans headed to their presidential caucus to cast ballots for the nominee to take on pro-abortion President Barack Obama.

With 84 percent of the precincts counted, Romney won with 39 percent of the vote compared with 36 percent for Ron Paul — who competed heavily in the state that has not drawn near as much media focus and attention as the three states that gave Rick Santorum another big boost last week — Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota.

Santorum received 18 percent of the vote despite not campaigning there while Newt Gingrich finished fourth with 6 percent.

“I thank the voters of Maine for their support. 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 said in a statement.

“We stand for conservative principles, liberty and prosperity. All of these are under threat. I’m in this race because I believe that America can be turned around, that we don’t have to accept unemployment over 8 percent, a national debt that is as large as our entire economy, and a President who, even as his own policies fail, apologizes for America’s past successes. We’ve had enough. It’s time to reverse Barack Obama’s legacy of domestic disarray and foreign-policy weakness,” he continued.

“I congratulate my fellow Republicans on a campaign well fought. We may have our differences, but we’re united in our determination to bring Barack Obama’s reign of failure to an end. I am the only candidate in the race who has never served a day in our broken federal government. The voters of Maine have sent a clear message that it is past time to send an outsider to the White House, a conservative with a lifetime of experience in the private sector, who can uproot Washington’s culture of taxing and spending and borrowing and endless bureaucracy,” Romney added.

While Romney was festive, the Paul campaign was grim at the election night victory party, according to Politico.

The crowd booed, then went eerily silent, when the results were revealed. “Liar!” shouted one supporter when state chairman Charlie Webster announced the results. “How many dead voted?” cried another. Even as Webster continued to speak, the crowd resumed talking among themselves and ignored the remainder of the announcement.

A seemingly energized Paul tried to put a positive spin on his support in the Pine Tree State, which was nearly double the percentage he had secured in 2008.

“The revolution is just beginning,” he said, to a crowd that immediately perked up when he strolled in just minutes after the results were announced. “We lost by almost 200 votes … it’s almost like we could call it a tie.”

Romney’s victory in Maine was the second of the day after winning the CPAC straw poll at the national conservative conference attended by more than 11,000 people and watched closely by conservative bloggers and media.

After each of the GOP presidential candidates addressed the audience, Mitt Romney won the straw poll with the support of 38 percent of attendees, of which 3,408 voted according to the Washington Times — which co-sponsored the straw poll. Santorum, who has experienced a significant surge in support following election victories in three different states on Tuesday, received the support of 31 percent of conservatives. Newt Gingrich has the support of 15 percent and Ron Paul the support of 12 percent.

All in all, the Republican candidates are campaigning as pro-life advocates and would be monumentally better than pro-abortion President Barack Obama. They all would very likely implement a host of pro-life policies, appoint pro-life people to key administrative and court positions, and give unborn children the hope they don’t enjoy currently when it comes to any chance of gaining legal protection from abortion.