Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney won Washington state's Republican caucuses this weekend, gaining a boost heading into Super Tuesday tomorrow, March 6, when 11 states hold contests.

The choice isn't binding. Romney won 37.6 percent of vote. He's put together a bit of a win streak, also carrying Wyoming, Arizona and Michigan within the last week.

Ron Paul edged Rick Santorum for second place with both receiving about 25 percent of the vote, with Newt Gingrich coming in fourth with 11 percent of the vote.

Republican contests on March 6 include Ohio, a swing state that President Obama, a Democrat, won in 2008 and Republican President George W. Bush won in 2004.

Polls there are very close, while Santorum has the edge in Oklahoma and Tennessee, and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich leads surveys in Georgia.

Romney is expected to win Massachusetts, Vermont and likely Virginia. Paul will continue to be a factor everywhere, particularly in states with caucus formats.

The 2012 Washington Republican Caucus results:

1. Mitt Romney 19,111 (37.6%)
2. Ron Paul 12,594 (24.8%)
3. Rick Santorum 12,089 (23.8%)
4. Newt Gingrich 5,221 (10.3%)
5. Other 1,749 (3.4%)

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has won Wyoming's presidential caucus vote, a series of county straw polls that took place over the last three weeks.

At 39 percent, Romney bested Rick Santorum (32 percent), Ron Paul (21 percent) and Newt Gingrich (8 percent). The Wyoming GOP released the results Wednesday.

Like Iowa's caucus, Wyoming's is not binding and will in no way affect the state's 29 delegates to the national convention, where the nominee will be formally chosen.

More attention will likely be paid to Wyoming's county conventions, held March 6-10, which will directly elect 12 delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Its April state convention, which will elect another 14 delegates ... none of which will be allocated (or "bound") to any of the four remaining presidential candidate.

Each will have to announce support for a candidate or "undecided." Confused yet?

Only 2,108 total votes were cast in Wyoming, the least populous U.S. state (fun fact). Nevada, the next smallest caucus to date, saw more than 30,000 GOP votes.

Also like in Iowa, the precinct caucuses served another function, besides recording a presidential-preference vote: electing delegates to Wyoming's later conventions.

If Romney's win in Wyoming is any indication, he'll receive more backing than his rivals from Wyoming's unbound national delegates at the GOP convention.

Romney won Michigan and Arizona Tuesday. Ten states cast ballots next week, on Super Tuesday, in an increasingly important date for his three competitors.

Mitt Romney won the Michigan primary narrowly over Rick Santorum Tuesday, reclaiming some momentum in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

He also won Arizona, by a much bigger margin.

Romney needed to win both, but especially Michigan (where he grew up when his father was governor) to assert his ability to regain his tarnished frontrunner status.

A Santorum win in Michigan would have raised questions about how strong a candidate Romney is within the GOP, and even a narrow defeat may have done so.

Nevertheless, Romney was 2-for-2 last night. Whether that gives him a critical boost heading into 10 "Super Tuesday" primaries March 6 remains an open question.

Mitt Romney Michigan Victory Speech

Empirically, Michigan's 30 delegates to the Republican convention, where the nominee is actually chosen this summer, will be allocated on a proportional basis.

That's in contrast to Romney's victory in Arizona, which was both expected and more thorough, netting him all 29 delegates in that state's winner-take-all primary.

Santorum portrayed his Michigan defeat as better than expected, even after leading in the polls earlier this month, given Romney's financial and territorial edge.

"This was going to be Romney's night. The question was how big. And it wasn't very big," Santorum said, adding that it's a "two-person race right now" with Mitt.

Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, despite finishing a distant third and fourth Tuesday, have both indicated they are still in this for the long haul to amass delegates.

The Arizona and Michigan primary results, according to Real Clear Politics:

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If you're running for national office, lovable Seinfeld loser George Costanza may not be a figure you should readily and enthusiastically equate yourself to.

But Mitt Romney did, and now Jason Alexander is commenting on it.

In his opening remarks at the Arizona Republican debate Wednesday, Mitt said, "I want to restore America's promise, and I'm going to do that."

Before he could continue, the crowd began applauding, so the candidate quipped, "As George Costanza would say, 'when they're applauding, stop.'"

Jason Alexander, who played Costanza on the long-running series, used it as an opening to poke some fun at Romney and his penchant for changing positions.

He tweets, "Thrilled that Gov. Romney enjoys my old character. I enjoyed the character he used 2 b 2. If he'd embrace that again, he'd b a great candidate."

Ohhhh, snap.

Just FYI, the actual quote was spoken from Jerry Seinfeld, speaking to George about how to end a conversation, though Constanza famously followed the advice.

Seinfeld says, "When you hit that high note, you say goodnight and walk off." Still, for the purposes of Romney's use, he was close enough this time.

Arizona GOP Presidential Debate (Full)

Arizona hosted the 20th GOP debate of this election cycle last night, and what followed was a wide-ranging discussion of issues ... and a familiar personal slap-fest.

It's all the same, only the names change. Wednesday, it was Rick Santorum in the coveted, yet also unfortunate role of the guy Mitt Romney trains his sights on.

Romney and Santorum clashed over the federal government's power in a high-stakes debate that might have been the last in the roller-coaster campaign.

Ron Paul was Ron Paul, defiantly making the case for liberty and getting far too little screen time. Newt Gingrich? He may have effectively called it quits.

Arizona GOP Presidential Debate (Full)

The combative, knock-'em-out Newt was AWOL. Instead, the jovial Uncle Newt was back, playing everyone's wingman (and promising $2.50/gallon gas).

It was like mid-to-late 2011 again as Gingrich the enthusiastic, vigorously nodding candidate who would never speak ill of a fellow Republican resurfaced.

Even with his now-infamous media foil, CNN's John King, as the moderator, too. Go figure. A shift in strategy as he looks for a third comeback? Maybe.

He'd surely take it if it happened. But equally likely is that his moment passed, he knows it, and is looking to mend fences with his rivals and America.

The debate was held in the southwestern state of Arizona six days before primaries there and in Romney's native Michigan, which he loves everything about.

Romney still faces skepticism among Republicans who dislike his shifting stances on issues, but it was Santorum being called a "fake" conservative by Paul.

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Cyborg Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is campaigning in Michigan ahead of Tuesday's primary, and boy, does he just love everything about that state!

Mitt's pandering speech last week was remarkable in how forced it sounded, even by his standards, as the Michigan native tried to convince residents he is one of them.

It was a performance reminiscent of Steve Carell in Anchorman, when Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy asks, "Are you just naming things you see and saying you love them?"

Watch a mashup of that scene and Romney's press conference below:

Mitt Romney Loves Michigan So Hard

The trees are the right height. Take note, Michigan Department of Tourism. There's your new tagline if ever we've heard one. "Pure Michigan" was so 2011.

Mitt Romney eked out a narrow win in Maine's Republican caucuses, state party officials announced Saturday, beating Ron Paul by approximately three percent.

The victory, however slim, offers the candidate a boost after three straight losses to Rick Santorum last week. How far it will carry him remains to be seen.

The former Massachusetts governor earned 39 percent of the vote, while Paul took 36 percent, his strongest showing by share of the vote so far in the campaign.

Paul also finished second to Romney in neighboring New Hampshire.

Santorum got 18 percent of the vote in Maine and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has faded since winning South Carolina, had 6 percent.

While the Maine results don’t immediately offer any convention delegates to Romney, they give him renewed momentum - at least according to Romney, who said:

“The voters of Maine sent a clear message that it is past time to send an outsider to the White House, a conservative with a lifetime of experience in the private sector, who can uproot a culture of taxing, spending, borrowing and endless bureaucracy.”

The Maine results are based on votes cast at 84 percent of municipal caucuses that have been conducted to date; the rest will be held by March 20.

The state’s delegates to the Republican convention will be allocated in May. Because the results aren't officially complete, Paul did not concede defeat.

“It’s almost like we could call it a tie,” he told supporters.

Again, Maine's party officials have declared Romney the winner. However, with 16 percent of the caucuses - many in counties where Paul is poised to do well - postponed due to inclement weather, it's still possible for Paul to overtake him.

Rick Santorum's Colorado and Missouri caucus wins put a nice dent in Mitt Romney's aura of inevitability, but didn't come close to overtaking him in the delegate count.

On the other hand, he has just 87 of 1,144 delegates needed to win the GOP nomination, with more than 80 percent of the U.S. still awaiting a chance to be heard.

Take away Florida's winner-take-all primary - one of only two such races so far - and his total would be even less impressive. Take a look at the delegate count so far:

The "non-binding" states allow their delegates, or a portion of them, to change their minds regardless of the election results, though they are unlikely to do so.

Some delegates are also "unpledged," meaning they are not tied to election results, which is why not all of the totals in the table above (by Real Clear Politics) add up.

Jon Huntsman won two delegates in New Hampshire, but is no longer in the race. As for the first contest, Iowa, CNN offers a different tabulation altogether.

It's confusing, to say the least, but offers an indication of where things are headed after last night, and looking ahead to the Super Tuesday elections on March 6.

Missouri's primary yesterday was non-official, so it is not included above. That state holds its caucus March 17, at which point delegates will actually be awarded.

Maine's caucuses are a week-long affair, concluding this Sunday. Arizona and Michigan are the next primaries on the Republican schedule, both set for February 28.

Washington votes March 3, with Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Alaska, Virginia, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Idaho, Massachusetts and Vermont all casting ballots March 6.

Below is the aggregate and state-by-state popular vote as of today. By this measure, Romney's lead is even less significant, as he's won well under half the votes:

The question remains: Can Santorum, Newt Gingrich and/or Ron Paul mount a serious offensive in the coming weeks that will make this a race beyond March 6?

Right now, it's still wide open, but with hundreds of delegates up for grabs on or before that date, a Romney sweep could finally propel him ahead of the field.

He would still be a long way from clinching the Republican presidential nomination, but from a financial and momentum standpoint, that may be his opponents' last stand.

If no candidate makes it to 1,144 by the end of the primary season this summer, the winner would be brokered/decided at the Republican National Convention.

Wouldn't that be something ...

Rick Santorum won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and a non-binding primary in Missouri on Tuesday night, an unexpected sweep that raised fresh questions about Mitt Romney’s ability to win the Republican presidential nomination.

On the flip side, it may help Romney inadvertently.

With Santorum emerging as competition to Newt Gingrich as the principal alternative to Romney, voters continue to veer among candidates but have not coalesced behind one consistently, often leaving Romney ahead almost by default.

Gingrich has won one state, South Carolina. Santorum has now won four, including Iowa. Romney won New Hampshire January 10 and then back-to-back victories in Florida and Nevada that had led to predictions that he was inevitable.

Not so fast.

The results on Tuesday shook the political world, though it is an open question whether they are a momentary embarrassment or a prolonged setback Romney.

Romney goes into the next round of primaries and caucuses much better financed than his opponents in what will be much more of a nationwide campaign.

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Prop 8 has been overruled in California, as the 9th Circuit Court stated today that the state's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.

The decision has been met with mostly cheers Hollywood (Woohoo!! Die Prop 8 Die!!!! Tweeted Olivia Wilde), but with one big jeer by one major player in D.C. Likely Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has just released a statement that reads:

“Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage. This decision does not end this fight, and I expect it to go to the Supreme Court. That prospect underscores the vital importance of this election and the movement to preserve our values. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and, as president, I will protect traditional marriage and appoint judges who interpret the Constitution as it is written and not according to their own politics and prejudices.”

Romney easily defeated Newt Gingrich in the Nevada primary over the weekend and it will take the political comeback to end all political comebacks for anyone other than Mitt to take on Barack Obama this November.