Maine GOP chairman says Mitt Romney wins caucuses

Bangor Daily News ^ | 2-11-2012 | Eric Russell

[BAW]

PORTLAND, Maine — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney narrowly edged Texas Congressman Ron Paul in Maine’s nonbinding GOP presidential preference poll on Saturday, ending a string of defeats for the Republican front-runner.

According to unofficial results announced Saturday evening by Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster, Romney took 39 percent of votes during statewide caucuses held during the last few weeks. Paul finished second at 36 percent.

“It’s good news. I’m hopeful this ends Romney’s little slide,” Maine House Speaker Robert Nutting said shortly after the announcement. “Romney is the best candidate to beat President Obama in the fall.”

Peter Cianchette, the Maine chairman for the Romney campaign and a former candidate for governor, said his candidate received broad support across the state despite a strong push by Paul.

“This was clearly a win and I think Maine showed him tremendous support,” Cianchette said.

ch took only 6 percent.

[BAW]

Hey, it's Maine. Land of Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

[Kenny]

Was this expected? Did Newt or Rick campaign there?

[BobL]

“Maine GOP chairman says Mitt Romney wins caucuses”

He can hold his head up high as he returns to the bath house.

[Dr. Sivana]

If anything, Mitt underperformed. Maine is hardly an hour’s drive from Massachusetts.

Gingrich would perform spectacularly badly in the northeast, and Santorum not much better. That means that ALL of the state legislators and U.S. reps would fear a non-Romney candidacy for fear of how it would effect them. Winning the presidency is secondary, and losing bodies in the south and heartland doesn’t even enter into the calculus.

[KansasGirl]

Little slide? Try big slide. Anyway, nobody cares what Maine thinks.

[cripplecreek]

Neither Santorum or Gingrich campaigned there.

[RC one]

you know how this will be reported though.

[CPT Clay]

Proportional award of delegates I hope.

[cripplecreek]

I’m not sure why so many states have these unofficial contests. They’re probably a fair indicator of which way the official vote will go but they seem kind of pointless aside from that.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

“It’s good news. I’m hopeful this ends Romney’s little slide,” Maine House Speaker Robert Nutting said...

RAAAAAAAGHHHH!!!

[HapaxLegamenon]

Non-bonding presidential preference. Only 5,000 people voting, and no direct delegates.

[montag813]

Gingrich at only 6%.

What a total collapse. Amazing.

[JediJones]

Hello, McFly, anybody home?

The below map shows how we did in the northeast in 2004. We don't pick our presidential candidates based on how they will perform in the northeast or on the west coast. If Republicans are winning in those states, it must be because they have unique RINO appeal to those constituencies even when they don't like the president. So we could expect the same thing to happen here, they would show up to vote against the conservative Republican president but will still vote for their local RINOs.

[Yankee]

Anyway, nobody cares what Maine thinks.

Don't be flippant. Everyone knows, as Maine goes so goes Nova Scotia. ;-)

[Pravious]

“Maine House Speaker Robert Nutting said shortly after the announcement. “Romney is the best candidate to beat President Obama in the fall.”

Wow. Nothing like being a pre-programmed Romneybot. Thought? Thinking? Principles? BAH. Who needs that. Romney has nice hair and looks safe (if you don’t look too closely).

[mkjessup]

A state full of RINOs supporting the Ultimate RINO.

And I STILL say,

FUMR!!

[mplsconservative]

Beautiful state, but filled with crazy people. Maine is much like Minnesota where I live. I’ll trade Al Franken for Oly Snowe.

[Vigilanteman]

The electoral math, so far, still shows Santorum doing way better than Gingrich.

Seven reasons for Rick Santorum

1. Who has won the most states without the benefit of their own money, last election's organization or a billionaire casino sugar daddy?
   
2. Who is everybody's second choice when he isn't their first?
   
3. Who can get both the Romney people and the Gingrich people, who hate each other, to vote for him?
   
4. Who has the best record on immigration?
   
5. Who has the best plan for repealing ObamaCare? And is the only GOP candidate who didn't help write or approve legislation which helped spawn this fiasco?
   
6. Who has the best plan for expanding the American economy and strengthening American families?
   
7. Who is the closest thing we have to the "generic Republican" which polls show consistently beating Obama and is most likely to make the election about Obama's sorry record rather than about himself?

[Glenn]

I've visited Maine. I expected nothing else. It's a very confused state.

[C. Edmund Wright]

Oh for 7. Like Rick, your analysis is shallow and unvetted.

[Dr. Sivana]

We don't pick our presidential candidates based on how they will perform in the northeast or on the west coast.

You apparently don't understand the post, and maybe the topic at large. The McFly comment is neither intelligent nor clever. And picking 2004 as an example of presidential selection is pointless as we had an unchallenged incumbent. Using the years 2000, 2008 or 1996 would have made more sense if you were interested in making a cogent argument.

Whether they have elected officials or not, every state, including northeast states have a Republican Party. Because these states are heavily populated, they have a substantial number of delegates. The same goes for California, which is similarly situated politically. Every elected official, at the local and state level for both statewide and federal positions wants to do as well as possible. Even if he doesn't win outright, he wants to make a respectable showing. The candidate at the top of the ticket usually has an effect on the under-ticket.

The delegates in those states DO pick candidates based in large part with how they will perform. So, yes, if you are in Maine, running for State Senate, and you think that you will get 5% more with Romney on top of the ticket instead of Gingrich, and you are a delegate or have influence on the delegate selection, you are that much more likely to support Romney. If you are a state party chair, and have a whole bunch of incumbents and challengers to consider, that effect gets multiplied.

For the record, I was actively politically as a teenager in Connecticut in '76, and I saw how much joy there was over Ford winning CT and my district at party hq, even though the party as a whole did not do so well in that election, and that our measly 8 electoral votes meant nothing to Ford, who lost to Carter.

I also knew as a State Rep candidate in 1996 that having Bob Dole at the top of the ticket was a HUGE liability to my difficult candidacy. In the end, he garnered 27% in my middle of the road for CT district. 27%! I did better than that, but not enough.

And of course, this kind of environment seeps into the thought processes of the folks in D.C. and New York who have influence at the upper levels. From the RNC's perspective, they don't want to be 100% locked out of a well-populated region like the NE as a party.

In short, delegates and party chairmen in northeastern states and California give extra weight to how a candidacy will affect them, as opposed to how he would do nationwide.

[anglian]

Numbers USA Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Santorum & Johnson Drearier Than Others

Numbersusa 01/23/12

Santorum NOW gets an What A change.

[sick1]

I wouldn’t expect them to but this is the same Gingrich that was going to contest every state right? (that is excluding winner take all VA).

[Mountain Mary]

If I have to hear one more “former head of the Governors association” or “GOP party chair” or “GOP caucus delegate” from some leftie state talk about how thrilled they are for their Rino Mitt...

I wanna hear what Newt and Rick have to say. Come on Sarah. Just endorse already.

I’m depressed tonight. Oh and all of my shows are being preempted for a tribute to a drug addict. Judge Jeanine knows nada about addiction. She keeps asking with all the “support” Whitney had, how could this have happened?

It happened because Whitney had a disease that killed her... and the people around her enabled so that she didn’t get into real recovery, which might have saved her life. She shoulda spent no less than a year in treatment..maybe two.

[FrankR]

[C. Edmund Wright]

Little Rickie needs to take that same class.

[RasterMaster]

RuPaul showed up with his glue-applied eyebrows and came within 3% of Slick Willard? Bad showing for Willard.

[RasterMaster]

Newtered Newt could benefit from learning what a real "conservative" actually is....

[The Citizen Soldier]

Too funny Frank!

[C. Edmund Wright]

Unlike pious Ricky and his pro union pro welfare pro big government ways, Newt has called that the worst mistake of his life.

Anything else from the “old news” department. Wait, don’t bother. You bore me, and a lot of others too I think.

[RasterMaster]

No reason to “bother” folks with blinders on regarding his actions since leaving congress....Oh wait...next you’ll be telling us all what Newt said yesterday is considered “old news” too? He and many of his supporters are sounding more Romney-esque as each day passes.

[Tennessee Nana]

2008 out of less than 6000 votes Willie Mitty gets 51%

2012 out of less than 6000 votes Willie Mitty gets 39%

[C. Edmund Wright]

I realize this is a difficult concept for you, but I’ll post it to you in hopes it can reach more open and expansive minds.

Newt, nor his supporters, have ever claimed the purity mantle. Pious Rick does every time he opens his crooked little mouth and sneers. Thus, Rick and his supporters have brought upon themselves a much higher bar of purity.

Newt is what Newt is, and that includes a lot of things among which are a fabulous intellect and an ability to persuade casually and off the cuff and by using history and the Constitution and logic and who knows what else. It’s a talent that little Ricky does not have in his wildest fantasy. He just doesn’t.

You can go down your little shallow check box of plusses and minuses all you want, but talent matters and Rick is devoid of it, period.

[newzjunkey]

But Santorum's THE ONE! He's the Consistent Conservative!™ He is so principled, he would never change.

/s

[Marguerite]

Newt is what Newt is, and that includes a lot of things among which are a fabulous intellect and an ability to persuade casually and off the cuff and by using history and the Constitution and logic and who knows what else. It’s a talent that little Ricky does not have in his wildest fantasy. He just doesn’t.

Besides all that, Newt was elected and reelected ten times in his district and served 20 years (1979-1999).

Santorum is politically and intellectually small fry. He wasn't even able to be reelected on his turf and lost miserably with 41% to 59%.

After that stringing defeat, was what poor Rick to do - just run for president! *grin*

He never explained WHY he lost his Senate seat (K Street, lobbyist connections, huge earmarks, peddling influence in Penn)... Hey, Rick, you've got some explaining to do!

[apoliticalone]

The more I watch the GOP contest the more I believe big surprises are soon the horizon. We the people are tired of a media, establishment, and government that are colluding for a candidate to represent them, rather than a candidate for us.

[caww]

Rick will field no delegates....there’s no path for him...consider the following:

He will field no dlegates in Ill. or TN, either.
He is not on the ballot in IN
He is not on the ballot in DC
He is not on the ballot in VA
He will not field any delegates in ND
He is not on the ballot in 20% of OH

He could not even try to compete in the first big state of FL, and has already said as much about CA and NY.

Here’s the bad news:..... delegates are going to be pledged; and no matter how much you beg, they aren’t going to be assigned to Rick Santorum later. ..., TN is the only one that assigns them later, anyway.

Rick CANNOT win the nomination. He CANNOT. There is no path to 1140+ delegates for him, period.

[JediJones]

http://www.newt.org/answers#GlobalWarming

Q: So why did Newt do the ad with Nancy Pelosi in 2007 calling for action to address climate change?

Newt does not believe there is a settled scientific conclusion about whether industrial development has dramatically contributed to a warming of the atmosphere.

Through his entire career, Newt has supported pro-market, pro-entrepreneur, innovative solutions to our environmental challenges, which he believes are superior to the liberal pro-bureaucracy, pro-tax, pro-regulation approach to the environment.

Newt believes that conservatives cannot be absent from the conversation about the environment and instead that conservatives must offer and explain why conservative solutions are better. Unfortunately, the attempt to get that message out through the ad with Nancy Pelosi failed. On November 8, 2011, Newt told FOX News’ Bret Baier that doing that commercial with Pelosi was “probably the dumbest single thing I’ve ever done”.

Newt will continue to oppose the Democrats’ destructive cap-and-trade and carbon tax proposals, continue to support expanded domestic oil and gas drilling, and continue to fight for a fundamental replacement of the job-killing Environmental Protection Agency with an Environmental Solutions Agency.

[murron]

So far, tonight at least, it hasn’t been reported hardly all except for the scrolls at the bottom because of the death of Whitney Houston.

[RedMDer]

All contributions are for the Current Quarter Expenses.

[EDINVA]

Which of those states did the GOP carry in ‘08?

Even Reagan didn’t carry MN, so those 10 EVs don’t mean a thing. The GOP candidate could carry 100% n the primary but not carry the state in the Fall.

FL/MO/NV/CO are varying degrees of possible (i.e., slim to none) for the eventual GOP candidate.

Everything will depend on how the economy is being reported in the Fall. Not how it is, but how it’s being reported. They can correct to report the bad news after the votes are cast.

[manc]

the north east, ARF, it’s like another country anyway.
To be honest if the north east left and joined Quebec I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep.

[Dave W]

Your post is a little late, I think. Newt's toast. Not enough money, not enough time, not on enough ballots. His unfavoralbles, never good and now are really really bad. I like Newt alot, but most voters won't even consider him.

[guinnessman]

At least try to check your facts before you post.

Rick has delegates in 14 of the 18 Congressional districts in Illinois.

[NavVet]

So that story about Rick leading Newt in TN, was fiction?

[JediJones]

Both Newt and Rick have won states while being outspent by Romney. Newt has been out there fundraising. Newt is only missing from the Virginia ballot. Rick is missing from that one, Indiana and 20% of Ohio. Unfavorables/polls, etc. are ever-changing and fluid as we’ve seen in this race. The link between “favorable” rating and votes is a very weak one. A lot of people have a favorable opinion of Mr. Rogers, but they wouldn’t elect him President. People didn’t have a very favorable opinion of Dick Cheney, but they knew he was capable and qualified to be President if he had to be.

[NavVet]

You might want to read an article by someone that actually used a calculator.

http://www.capitalfreepress.com/4726-details-santorums-delegate-ballot-access-issues/

[RasterMaster]

So much for the “conservative” approach...

http://www.nationalreview.com/planet-gore/18641/gingrich-vs-kerry-great-debate/chris-horner

[BlackElk]

Back home an on the net.

I remember that recent polling puffily claimed that Mr. Inevitable had 58% but he wound up with 39%. The forks are on the table and the toaster is all heated up and ready. Buh-bye, Mutt!

[JediJones]

http://www.newt.org/answers#GlobalWarming

Global Warming/Cap and Trade

Newt does not believe there is a settled scientific conclusion about whether industrial development has dramatically contributed to a warming of the atmosphere.

Newt absolutely opposes “cap and trade” as well as any system of taxing carbon emissions. He testified before Congress against it in 2009 and led a grassroots effort while the Chairman of American Solutions to block its passage in the House and Senate.

Newt believes that cap and trade would kill hundreds of thousands of American jobs, cause electricity and fuel prices to skyrocket, and make America poorer. In contrast, Gingrich believes the best way to protect the environment is through markets, incentives, and entrepreneurs, who quite often are deploying innovative new technologies.

As for the question of whether industrial development has dramatically contributed to a warming of the atmosphere, Newt has noted there is no settled scientific conclusion. Many scientists believe it is the case. Others do not. But this unsettled scientific question has nothing to do with the best approach to protecting our environment, which is always markets, incentives, and entrepreneurs creating better and more efficient products and services.