SEATTLE ? Showing that organization does matter, Mitt Romney won Washington state?s caucuses Saturday.
The victory gives the former Massachusetts governor another boost going into Super Tuesday, when 10 states vote.
Continue Reading?The voters of Washington have sent a signal that they do not want a Washington insider in the White House,? Romney said in a three-paragraph statement. ?They want a conservative businessman who understands the private sector and knows how to get the federal government out of the way so that the economy can once again grow vigorously. With the support of Washington?s voters, I look forward with optimism to the primaries and caucuses to come.?
Romney ran up his margin in the counties around Puget Sound. In Snohomish County, a key bellwether just north of Seattle, Romney got twice as many votes as Rick Santorum, who was in a tight race with Ron Paul for second place.
It?s Romney?s fifth win in a row. Since his trio of losses to Santorum just less than a month ago, Romney has now won primaries in Michigan and Arizona and caucuses in Maine and Wyoming. With 60 percent of precincts reporting, Santorum narrowly trailed Paul for third place.
Washington?s caucuses are nonbinding, which means that someone besides Romney could still wind up winning most of the 43 delegates that will be awarded at the state convention in June. But for tonight, Romney is the winner and will carry the momentum out of the state.
Paul believes he could ultimately garner the most delegates. His supporters have worked for years to increase their influence in the state party organization.
All four candidates campaigned in Washington, but the Texas congressman is the only one who stuck around for caucus day. His opponents spent Saturday in Ohio, the main Tuesday battleground.
?We?re in a good second place,? Paul told supporters early in the night at a conference center along Seattle?s waterfront. ?The good news is we?re doing very, very well in getting delegates. That, as you know, takes a little bit of effort. You have to follow up ? One thing we know how to do is get delegates.?
?If we don?t do our job, if this message isn?t spread ? we will continue to lose,? Paul added. ?But let me tell you, the message I?m getting is the message is spreading. We do not know exactly what will come out of this campaign. We do know that the strategy of building up delegates is a pretty sound position.?
Even a second-place finish would be a disappointment for Paul, despite his efforts to downplay expectations in advance. He?s focused his energy on low-turnout caucuses where his supporters can have an outsize impact. He was the only candidate to spend money on television advertising in Washington, yet he?s been unable to win any contests ? caucuses or otherwise ? outright. He finished second in Maine, Minnesota and New Hampshire.
Only about 250 came to Paul?s election night event in a room that held 750. It was probably the lowest energy of all his caucus night events this year.
Romney and Paul built the best organizations here. They worked hard to make sure their supporters knew where to go and what to do in a state that hasn?t held only a caucus in a quarter century. Before this year, Washington split its delegates among a caucus and primary.
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