CASPER, Wyo., Jan. 5, 2008
Romney Takes Largest Cut Of Wyo. Delegates
Former Mass. Gov. Wins 8 Of 12 Delegates In State Largely Ignored By Candidates
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Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, seen in front of a Wyoming state flag in Cheyenne in this November 2007 file photo, is one of the GOP hopefuls who have ignored the state in recent weeks, despite the party's selection of delegates just days after the Iowa caucuses. (AP/B. Quester, Wyo. Tribune-Eagle)
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"This is just the beginning," he declared.
The former Massachusetts governor won eight delegates, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson got three and California Rep. Duncan Hunter won one.
These are the first delegates actually elected to the 2008 Republican National Convention (the Iowa GOP delegates won’t be named until the state party's convention in June).
The Wyoming caucuses are conventions of precinct representatives, so the actual number voting is very small - on one county unit, there were just 31 people.
"The people of Wyoming took the first step towards bringing true conservative change to Washington," Romney said in a statement. "I am honored to have won many of the first delegates awarded this primary season. As the Republican nominee, I promise to fight to seat all of Wyoming's delegates at the national convention."
The victory was a welcome development for Romney, coming two days after his loss to Mike Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses and three days before the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire. Those two states have attracted most of the political attention. Wyoming had scheduled its GOP county conventions earlier to attract candidates to the state but had only modest results.
Romney visited Wyoming in August and November and three of his five sons campaigned in the state. One son, Josh Romney, owns a ranch in southwest Wyoming.
"Number one, he campaigned here," delegate Leigh Vosler of Cheyenne said of Romney. "I think that helped while some other candidates ignored us. But also he's the right person for the job."
Hunter, Thompson and Ron Paul all stopped by the state - visits they probably wouldn't have made except for this year's early conventions - and candidates have sent Wyoming's GOP voters a flood of campaign mail. Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, did not visit Wyoming and drew little support. Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani also did not visit and received little support.
"I think we're encouraged that the voters in Wyoming value that my dad had spent time here," Josh Romney said.
The traditional leadoff nomination contests in Iowa and New Hampshire have dominated the attention of both candidates and the national media in recent months, and no candidates had visited Wyoming in the four weeks leading up to the caucuses. Hunter was the last to visit the state on Dec. 4.
Tom Sansonetti, the county convention organizer, maintained Saturday that moving the state's caucuses ahead was the right thing to do.
"The ultimate goal is not how many times we appear on Katie Couric," Sansonetti said. "The ultimate goal was to have attention paid to rank-and-file Republicans by national candidates."
In addition, he said more Wyoming Republicans have become involved in the process.
Wyoming Republicans also paid a price for jumping ahead. The Republican National Committee has slashed half of Wyoming's 28 national convention delegates. National party leaders similarly penalized Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina for moving up the dates of their nomination contests.
RNC rules require the punishment for states that hold their nominating contests earlier than Feb. 5. Iowa, which held caucuses on Thursday, will not be penalized because, technically, the caucuses are not binding on convention delegates. Nevada, which plans to hold its caucuses on Jan. 19, will not be penalized for the same reason.
Besides the 12 delegates chosen at Saturday's county conventions in Wyoming, two delegates to be chosen at a statewide convention in May will also be sent to the national convention in Minneapolis.
Wyoming's Democratic primary will be held on March 9.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 43 CommentsENOUGH IS ENOUGH! GET RID OF THESE ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS, NOW!
Posted by denn034
Dennyboy, you need to buy a new atlas if yours shows Wyoming above Utah.
You must have went to a publik skool.
Posted by hawksprings at 09:02 PM : Jan 05, 2008
It is just above Utah on the evolutionary chain. Utah is pretty much ***-backwards rockbottom tadpole-like, and Wyoming is barely crawling out of the water.
Wyoming, I WOULD WIN TOO....Nothing to be too proud of.
Re: "Romney Takes Largest Cut Of Wyo. Delegates"
I''ll bet that those of you who ridiculed Mr. Romney''s magic underwear, and his Lord, Nimrod, are feeling pretty silly now...
Posted by Rafterman1 at 01:18 PM : Jan 05, 2008"
There are NO "insignificant" states!!!! How dare you belittle any of MY fellow countrymen!
Posted by denn034
Dennyboy, you need to buy a new atlas if yours shows Wyoming above Utah.
You must have went to a publik skool.
Huckabee did not do well with non-evangelicals in Iowa. Romney got 3 votes for every 1 vote Huckabee got from non-evangelcals in Iowa. That doesn''t bode well for a Huckabee in a general election.
Making his first bid for elected office, Romney boasted that he had helped create more than 10,000 jobs at companies he had retooled. But Kennedy painted him as someone "who puts profits over people," and an ugly labor dispute soon helped sink Romney''s campaign.
Bain Capital had bought a controlling interest in a paper products company called Ampad for $5 million in 1992. Two years later, after Ampad bought a factory in Marion, Ind., the new management team dismissed about 200 workers, slashed salaries and benefits, and hired strikebreakers after the union called a walkout.
"We were just fired," Randy Johnson, a former worker and union officer at the Marion plant, recalled in a telephone interview. "They came in and said, ''You''re all fired. If you want to work for us, here''s an application.'' We had insurance until the end of the week. That was it. It was brutal."
In October 1994, Johnson and other striking workers drove to Massachusetts to protest Romney''s Senate campaign. "We chased him everywhere," Johnson recalled. "He took good jobs with benefits, and created low-wage, part-time, no-benefit jobs. That''s what he was creating with his investments."
Mitt wins Y.O. Ming. Wow.
Guess the women vote put him over the top.
Wyoming, the state where women grow hair on their chest.
As they say:
"As goes Wyoming so go the buffalo.
Posted by jeff-fla at 06:48 PM : Jan 05, 2008
Huh, that is interesting, because Mitt has let everyone know just how integral religion is to freedom. But he has ignored the entire history of civilization that clearly illustrates that religion does just fine without freedom.
I think you are really upset that the Huckster has called Rush Limbaugh part of the DC chattering class and has made mention of a shadow economy for the elite.
I an really in favor of Edwards. I''m hoping that Mitt and Huckabee split the ticket to a point the Edwards wins.
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See all 43 Comments