Romney easily wins Washington caucuses ahead of Super Tuesday

By NewsCore

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Mitt Romney will carry strong momentum into the all-important Super Tuesday polls after easily taking out the Washington state Republican caucuses Saturday night -- his fifth win in a row.

With all of the votes tallied late Saturday night, Romney was the clear winner in the nonbinding poll with 37.65 percent support. Ron Paul finished second, edging Rick Santorum 24.81 percent to 23.81 percent, while Newt Gingrich was well back in fourth place with 10.28 percent. A tick over three percent of the caucus-goers said they were undecided or voted for someone else.

Romney's win follows first-place finishes in the Michigan and Arizona primaries and in caucuses in Maine and Wyoming over the last three weeks.

He said in a statement he was heartened to continue his winning streak and congratulated the other candidates on their campaigns.

"We may differ from one another in background and experience. But we are united in our love of this country, and in our belief that with proper leadership America can do much better," Romney said.

"The voters of Washington have sent a signal that they do not want a Washington insider in the White House. 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."

The win will deliver a dose of momentum to the former Massachusetts governor ahead of the high-profile Super Tuesday contests next week -- but it will not immediately raise his delegate count.

Washington state's 43 delegates to the Republican National Convention -- selected through a multi-step process -- will not be bound to any presidential candidate until the state GOP convention in June.

According to The Seattle Times, Republican leaders said more than 50,000 people turned out for Saturday's caucuses -- lower than the 60,000 expected -- but still thought to be a record for the state.

In some locations reports surfaced of long lines and standing-room-only crowds. The high turnout caused problems in at least one county, with the Tri-City Herald reporting that roughly 1,500 people were turned away from Benton County caucuses after rooms at a convention center reached capacity.

According to newspapers, Benton County Republican Party members were shocked when about 3,000 people showed up to caucus -- roughly 1,000 more than expected. Faced with space and time restrictions, they were forced to turn people away.

There was some controversy Saturday morning, when the Washington state Republican Party released a statement on Facebook saying that some members had received robo-calls Friday night telling them the caucuses had been postponed by a week. The party is believed to be investigating to find out who made the calls.

Paul was the only candidate watching caucus results in the state Saturday.

After the result was called, he told FOX News Channel presenter Bret Baier that his campaign team would continue to impress their case upon potential delegates in Washington.

"Our strategic plan is to go after the delegates," he said, before admitting that eventually his campaign would have to start winning state contests.

Paul said he still considered all of the Super Tuesday polls as "potentially winnable."

"The goal is to win the nomination. We don't win enough [yet] but there is no reason you can't build momentum and win even more," he said.

Romney, Santorum and Gingrich, meanwhile, were all campaigning in Ohio, which is considered the biggest prize of the Super Tuesday polls -- the results of which are expected to determine the future of the primary race.

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said on FOX News after the Washington race was called that it was vital for Romney to take advantage of his momentum ahead of the 11 polls on Tuesday, pointing out that the GOP frontrunner had so far struggled to win back-to-back contests.

"If [Romney] can win Ohio, I think that would be a severe setback for Santorum," Krauthammer said.