Related info:
– Ron Paul Is Secretly Taking Over The GOP – And It’s Driving People Insane (Business Insider):
By now, it is clear that the Maine caucuses were a complete mess.
Evidence is mounting that Mitt Romney’s 194-vote victory over Ron Paul was prematurely announced, if not totally wrong. Washington County canceled their caucus on Saturday on account of three inches of snow (hardly a blizzard by Maine standards), and other towns that scheduled their caucuses for this week have been left out of the vote count. Now, it looks like caucuses that did take place before Feb. 11 have also been left out of final tally.
As the full extent of the chaos unfolds, sources close to the Paul campaign tell Business Insider that it is looking increasingly like Romney’s team might have a hand in denying Paul votes, noting that Romney has some admirably ruthless operatives on his side and a powerful incentive to avoid a fifth caucus loss this month.
Ron Paul gets his wish: A recount in Maine (Houston Chronicle, Feb. 18 , 2012):
Under severe pressure from Ron Paul’s supporters and other grassroots Republicans, the Maine State Republican Party reversed course and is planning to “reconfirm” the results from the state’s Feb. 11 caucus.
After receiving criticism regarding votes not included in the original tally, the Executive Committee met Thursday and agreed to confirm the vote counts with town chairmen and update the totals. The committee also voted unanimously to include results from the Washington County caucus, which was postponed for a week because of snowfall.
In past presidential election cycles, Maine has received little attention. This year, however, the state’s caucuses drew national interest as Ron Paul looked to the Pine Tree State for his first win and Mitt Romney looked to end a three-state losing streak.
When Romney edged out Paul in the vote by only 194 votes in the official announcement last Saturday evening, Paul and his supporters pointed to the Washington County postponement, as the Texas congressman expected to do well there. Many of his supporters suggested the postponement was intentional, arguing that 3 to 4 inches of snow is not a big deal for Maine and the local county chairman supports Romney.
Once town chairmen confirm the vote counts, the totals will be updated on the Maine Republican Party website.
Gary Howard, Paul’s national press secretary, suggested the Texas representative isn’t concerned about winning a majority of the straw poll votes, and instead expects to win delegates.
“Whatever the outcome, Congressman Paul is confident that he will have the Maine delegation going into the Tampa convention,” he said.