Maine Republicans Urged to Reconsider Romney Win in Caucus Poll
The Maine Republican Party is being urged to reconsider its announcement that presidential candidate Mitt Romney won a preference poll of state caucus-goers, the Bangor Daily News reports.
The Maine GOP said on Saturday that Romney had defeated Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, 39 percent to 36 percent, or less than 200 votes, in the state’s weeklong caucuses. To be counted, party officials said the meetings had to be concluded by Feb. 11.
According to the newspaper, some communities that followed caucus procedure were still not counted in the final tabulation. In addition, one county was forced to postpone its caucus because of a snowstorm and so was not included in the count.
Some prominent figures in the state, including Senate President Kevin Raye, have protested, urging party officials to take into account additional results.
GOP Chairman Charlie Webster told the Bangor Daily News that he doesn’t think including those results would change the outcome. He said the state party committee would decide whether to reconsider when it meets next month.
On Saturday night, when the vote was announced, Paul called the result "slightly discouraging" and said he had expected to do "very, very well" at a caucus that hadn't met. If the results are overturned, it would be Paul's first win of the season and the second time a Romney win turned into a loss. He had eight votes more than Rick Santorum on the night of the Iowa caucuses, but more than two weeks later certified results found Santorum the winner by 34 votes.
