Ron Paul

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.

Results show Mitt Romney winning the 2012 Nevada caucuses by a sizable margin, giving him his third victory in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

With 71 percent of precincts reporting, Romney has 47 percent to Newt Gingrich's 23 percent and Ron Paul's 19 percent, with Rick Santorum at 11 percent.

In his victory speech from Las Vegas, Romney made clear that he's looking ahead to the general election, focusing his remarks on President Obama.

"Four years ago candidate Obama came to Nevada promising to help," he said. "Mr. President, Nevada has had enough of your kind of help," he said.

"We're not going to settle for a president who tells us it could be worse," he added, trying to downplay recent job gains and the drop in unemployment.

A victory in Nevada leaves Romney primed for what should be a strong month for him: Six more states vote in February, and he won four of them in 2008.

Still, the race is far from over. Not including Nevada's delegates, which will be awarded proportionally, Romney has just 80 of the 1,144 needed at this point.

If someone were to start pulling off some upset wins - not out of the question in this fluid cycle - on or before Super Tuesday (March 6), we could have a race.

The 2012 Nevada caucus results (incomplete):

1. Mitt Romney: 47% (11,822 votes, 11 delegates)
2. Newt Gingrich: 23% (5,623, 2 delegates)
3. Ron Paul: 19% (4,619, 2 delegates)
4. Rick Santorum: 11% (2,749, 0 delegates)

Campaigning in Nevada in advance of tomorrow's Republican presidential caucus, Ron Paul talked to CNN's Joe Johns about his prospects in the Silver State and beyond.

Paul said the caucus format works to his advantage because it rewards organization and enthusiasm, rather than strictly money, which gives Mitt Romney a huge edge.

The Texas Congressman, whose financial situation is still better than most, lamented that his resources limited any chance against Romney in a big state like Florida.

How well he'll do in Nevada remains to be seen, but Paul says he will continue his goal of accumulating delegates and that there is "zero chance" of him dropping out.

Watch his cordial interview with the network below:

Ron Paul Interview in Nevada

Mitt Romney rolled to victory in the Florida primary Tuesday, dispatching Newt Gingrich after his win in South Carolina and reclaiming a dominant position in the GOP race.

The triumph by Romney offered perhaps his first forceful response to the concerns that were raised about his candidacy only 10 days ago ... and throughout the last year.

While there remain plenty of doubters, a 14-point win with no asterisk in the biggest state so far (Romney won all 50 delegates) will resonate more than his past results.

That isn't saying too much, given that he's yet to win a majority in any state (although Florida's delegates were winner-take-all). Nevertheless, he beat Newt convincingly.

“A competitive primary does not divide us,” Romney told supporters. “It prepares us. And we will win. I stand ready to lead this party and to lead our nation.”

But if the Florida Republican primary results promised to reorder the field, none of Romney's challengers got the memo. Gingrich quickly pledged to fight on.

Gingrich spoke to a crowd in Orlando holding signs reading “46 States to Go,” saying he had a message for those wondering about the future of his 2012 bid.

“We are going to contest every place, and we will win,” said Gingrich, who did not congratulate Romney for his victory, nor did he call him on Tuesday night.

Rick Santorum, who finished third, and Ron Paul, who finished fourth, have also shown no indication that they're dropping out of the race anytime soon.

The next month is relatively light on primaries and caucuses, leading up to the Super Tuesday slate of elections March 6. Nevada and Maine vote Saturday.

The 2012 Florida GOP primary results:

1. Mitt Romney: 771,842 (46.4%)
2. Newt Gingrich: 531,294 (31.9%)  
3. Rick Santorum: 222,248 (13.4%)  
4. Ron Paul: 116,776 (7.0%)

Asked at last night's Florida Republican debate if Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich should return money made from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Ron Paul responded:

"That subject really doesn't interest me a whole lot."

The Texas congressman might not be #1 in the polls, but he showed last night that when given a proper forum, he's as substantive as anyone - and funny too.

Asked where he stands on Newt Gingrich's proposal to put a permanent base on the moon by 2020, Paul said, "Well, I don't think we should go to the moon."

"I think we maybe should send some politicians up there."

Florida GOP Debate Highlights: Ron Paul Edition!

Paul, who at 76 would be the oldest person ever elected President of the United States also drew cheers in his response to a question about his medical records.

Noting that his records are "about one page, if even that long," Paul challenged his cohorts to "a 25-mile bike ride, any time, any day in the heat of Texas."

But, you know, there are laws against age discrimination, so if you push this too much, you better be careful," he quipped, and he wasn't done by a long shot.

Asked by CNN moderator Wolf Blitzer what he would say if Raul Castro called him in the Oval Office, Paul said, "Well, I'd ask what he called about, you know?"

Which isn't to say Paul's wit was his only asset. He routinely scored points with his strong responses, especially regarding monetary policy and civil liberties.

Florida's primary is Tuesday, January 31.

Thursday's Republican presidential debate, the 19th in this election cycle, saw Mitt Romney tried to fend off Newt Gingrich, while Ron Paul and Rick Santorum shined.

Romney came out swinging fast and when Gingrich attacked, he hit back. Much more aggressive than in the past, he's going all-in to win Tuesday's Florida primary.

In that respect, he likely succeeded in blunting some of Newt's momentum in Florida, as Gingrich was flatter Thursday than in some of the past debates he's owned.

He had some nice zingers and applause-garnering policy proposals, but not a proverbial "knockout punch" like he delivered en route to winning in South Carolina.

Florida GOP Debate Highlights (1/26)

Gingrich received praise for his harsh attack on debate moderator John King last week and tried to double down on his strategy of attacking the host to build support.

It backfired a bit last night. Wolf Blitzer stood his ground when Gingrich would not answer a question about his apparent truce over the issue of Romney's tax return.

He called the question "nonsense" and suggested they talk about "issues that relate to the governing of America," but Wolf - and later Mitt - got the better of him.

Rick Santorum, meanwhile, had probably his strongest debate performance in a year, pointedly criticizing both Gingrich and Romney on a variety of issues.

The fourth candidate running, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, would probably be called the winner of the debate if the mainstream media would take him seriously.

We counted 21 questions for Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich at last night's GOP debate in Florida, with 12 for Rick Santorum, and a mere eight for Ron Paul.

To a point, we get that this is influenced by results and polling ... but on the flip side, aren't results and polling likely to be based on amount of exposure?

Why not give candidates equal free media exposure at the debates?

It's not like these are fringe guys really. Ron Paul has a strong third and second place finish and polls in double digits everywhere; Santorum won Iowa.

Makes no sense. Fortunately, we came across this highlight reel of Paul's answers from the debate in Tampa. Let's hear it for video editing and YouTube!

Florida Debate Highlights: Ron Paul Edition!

Florida played host to the latest Republican presidential debate Monday night, and Mitt Romney came out swinging against newly-anointed co-frontrunner Newt Gingrich.

After Gingrich routed him in South Carolina, Romney was forced to change course from his usual try-not-to-lose strategy of appearing competent, inoffensive and vanilla.

Mitt apparently got the memo that in order to stop Florida (which holds its primary January 31) from becoming South Carolina redux, he actually has to show some fight.

Florida Republican Debate

As such, he blasted  as an influence peddler and disgraced politician in the debate, which marked the GOP race's most heated and personal exchanges to date.

Gingrich, the grand master of the 18 debates to date, and who pulled off a stunning upset in S.C. in large part due to some debate highlights, was, for once, thrown off.

The most shocking moment of last night may have been when Newt said nothing at all, briefly falling into a frustrated silence at one point amid Romney's barrage.

The night epitomized the direction of the race. It's the insurgents vs. the establishment, with Newt hoping to mobilize the former and Mitt looking to swat him down.