Romney Declares Victory In Maine
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. -- Mitt Romney was far enough ahead in Maine's caucus tonight to declare himself the winner there.
"I think it's a harbinger of what you're going to see on Tuesday," Romney said to reporters. "It's coming kind of late in the process but not really too late."
With 47 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had a solid lead at 53 percent with John McCain trailing with 21 percent of the vote and Ron Paul at 19 percent.
Maine's caucus is a straw vote with no delegates bound by the results. The caucus is the first step in electing the state's 18 delegates to the GOP convention.
"You know that there've been seven contests prior to Maine. I won three. Senator McCain won three," Romney said. "With this, that gives me the edge, four to three. I don't weigh them all the same, of course. I'm really pleased nonetheless to have this victory and particularly in a setting where there's been such a spirited debate among the different campaigns."