Romney wins Puerto Rico primary
Senin, 19 Maret 2012 by Android Blackberry
 |
| Romney wins Puerto Rico primary |
Mitt Romney scored an overwhelming win Sunday in Puerto Rico's Republican presidential main, trouncing chief rival Rick Santorum on the Caribbean island even as the two rivals looked ahead to a lot more competitive contests this week in Illinois and Louisiana.
The victory inside the U.S. territory was so convincing that Romney, the GOP front-runner, won all 20 delegates towards the national convention at stake due to the fact he got more than 50 percent from the vote. That padded his comfortable lead more than Santorum in the race to amass 1,144 delegates to clinch the nomination.
Nevertheless, the GOP nomination fight is unlikely to finish anytime soon, with Santorum refusing to step aside even though Romney is pulling further ahead in the delegate hunt.
As the day began, Santorum claimed he was in contest for the lengthy haul since Romney can be a weak front-runner.
"This is a principal course of action exactly where somebody had a huge advantage, large funds benefit, massive advantage of establishment assistance and he hasn't been able to close the deal as well as come close to closing the deal," Santorum said. "That tells you that there's a true flaw there."
However, Santorum sidestepped when asked if he would fight Romney on the convention floor if he failed before August to quit the former Massachusetts governor from obtaining the required number of delegates.
Romney, in turn, expressed self-confidence that he'd prevail.
"I cannot let you know precisely how the process is going to work," Romney mentioned. "But I bet I am going to develop into the nominee."
Each campaigned in Puerto Rico last week - within a campaign focused on statehood for the U.S. territory - but Romney cut brief his trip so he could head to Illinois and Santorum spent Sunday in Louisiana. Illinois, a additional moderate Midwestern state, votes Tuesday and is seen as more friendly territory for Romney, while Santorum could be the favorite within the more conservative Southern state of Louisiana, which votes Saturday.
Following the Puerto Rico victory, Romney had 521 delegates in his camp and Santorum had 253, based on The Associated Press' tally. Former Property Speaker Newt Gingrich trailed with 136 delegates and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 50.
Enrique Melendez, the Republican representative on the Puerto Rican State Electoral Commission, told the AP that Romney "won the Puerto Rican major by an enormous margin and we are granting him the 20 delegates."
At this rate, Romney is on pace to capture the nomination in June unless Santorum or Gingrich is able to win decisively in the coming contests.
Each have mentioned they would stay in the race and maybe force the nomination to a fight in the GOP's convention in Tampa if Romney does not amass sufficient delegates to arrive using a mandate. That would turn the convention into an intra-party brawl for the very first time given that 1976.
Even as Santorum declined to commit to forcing a brokered convention, his advisers were working behind the scenes on a strategy to persuade convention delegates to switch candidates if the former Pennsylvania senator fails to derail Romney before that.
Romney's aides contact this a fantasy scenario even as they try and avoid delegates from defecting.
Half with the states have however to weigh in on a race with seemingly no finish in sight anytime soon. That's prompted fresh speculation within the GOP over whether a contested convention is most likely.
Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus insisted that party will have a nominee sooner as an alternative to later.
"We're only at halftime," Priebus mentioned. "I think that this method is going to play itself out. We'll possess a nominee, I feel, fairly soon - 1, two months away."
In Puerto Rico, the race was focused on the problem of statehood, and Melendez said, "This proves Gov. Romney's electability and his capability to reach out to Hispanics and minorities."
No matter whether that's accurate or not, Romney told Puerto Ricans he would help statehood though Santorum said English would need to be the official language of the island if it were to join the Usa - a statement that roiled residents.
"In Puerto Rico, we get along fine with both languages," mentioned Francisco Rodriguez, a 76-year-old architect who supported Romney and hopes Puerto Rico becomes the nation's 51st state.
Even as Puerto Rico voted, Romney and Santorum traded barbs from afar.
"Sen. Santorum has the exact same financial lightweight background the president has," Romney told a crowd in Moline, Ill. He went a step further in Rockford, Ill., saying, "We're not going to replace an economic lightweight with an additional economic lightweight."
That drew a Santorum retort: "If Mitt Romney's an financial heavyweight, we're in trouble."
Apart from a pair of Tv interviews, Santorum spent the day visiting a pair of churches in Louisiana, sharing how his faith has shaped his political profession and his opposition to abortion rights and gay marriage. He didn't mention Romney or any of his other Republican opponents during talks at each churches.
He produced clear he did not plan to exit the race anytime soon, saying in Bossier City, La., "One in the great blessings I've had in each political campaign is folks underestimate me, individuals underestimate what God can do."
But, he was curt when asked about his odds in Illinois.
"Keep working," Santorum mentioned immediately after services there.
The victory inside the U.S. territory was so convincing that Romney, the GOP front-runner, won all 20 delegates towards the national convention at stake due to the fact he got more than 50 percent from the vote. That padded his comfortable lead more than Santorum in the race to amass 1,144 delegates to clinch the nomination.
Nevertheless, the GOP nomination fight is unlikely to finish anytime soon, with Santorum refusing to step aside even though Romney is pulling further ahead in the delegate hunt.
As the day began, Santorum claimed he was in contest for the lengthy haul since Romney can be a weak front-runner.
"This is a principal course of action exactly where somebody had a huge advantage, large funds benefit, massive advantage of establishment assistance and he hasn't been able to close the deal as well as come close to closing the deal," Santorum said. "That tells you that there's a true flaw there."
However, Santorum sidestepped when asked if he would fight Romney on the convention floor if he failed before August to quit the former Massachusetts governor from obtaining the required number of delegates.
Romney, in turn, expressed self-confidence that he'd prevail.
"I cannot let you know precisely how the process is going to work," Romney mentioned. "But I bet I am going to develop into the nominee."
Each campaigned in Puerto Rico last week - within a campaign focused on statehood for the U.S. territory - but Romney cut brief his trip so he could head to Illinois and Santorum spent Sunday in Louisiana. Illinois, a additional moderate Midwestern state, votes Tuesday and is seen as more friendly territory for Romney, while Santorum could be the favorite within the more conservative Southern state of Louisiana, which votes Saturday.
Following the Puerto Rico victory, Romney had 521 delegates in his camp and Santorum had 253, based on The Associated Press' tally. Former Property Speaker Newt Gingrich trailed with 136 delegates and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 50.
Enrique Melendez, the Republican representative on the Puerto Rican State Electoral Commission, told the AP that Romney "won the Puerto Rican major by an enormous margin and we are granting him the 20 delegates."
At this rate, Romney is on pace to capture the nomination in June unless Santorum or Gingrich is able to win decisively in the coming contests.
Each have mentioned they would stay in the race and maybe force the nomination to a fight in the GOP's convention in Tampa if Romney does not amass sufficient delegates to arrive using a mandate. That would turn the convention into an intra-party brawl for the very first time given that 1976.
Even as Santorum declined to commit to forcing a brokered convention, his advisers were working behind the scenes on a strategy to persuade convention delegates to switch candidates if the former Pennsylvania senator fails to derail Romney before that.
Romney's aides contact this a fantasy scenario even as they try and avoid delegates from defecting.
Half with the states have however to weigh in on a race with seemingly no finish in sight anytime soon. That's prompted fresh speculation within the GOP over whether a contested convention is most likely.
Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus insisted that party will have a nominee sooner as an alternative to later.
"We're only at halftime," Priebus mentioned. "I think that this method is going to play itself out. We'll possess a nominee, I feel, fairly soon - 1, two months away."
In Puerto Rico, the race was focused on the problem of statehood, and Melendez said, "This proves Gov. Romney's electability and his capability to reach out to Hispanics and minorities."
No matter whether that's accurate or not, Romney told Puerto Ricans he would help statehood though Santorum said English would need to be the official language of the island if it were to join the Usa - a statement that roiled residents.
"In Puerto Rico, we get along fine with both languages," mentioned Francisco Rodriguez, a 76-year-old architect who supported Romney and hopes Puerto Rico becomes the nation's 51st state.
Even as Puerto Rico voted, Romney and Santorum traded barbs from afar.
"Sen. Santorum has the exact same financial lightweight background the president has," Romney told a crowd in Moline, Ill. He went a step further in Rockford, Ill., saying, "We're not going to replace an economic lightweight with an additional economic lightweight."
That drew a Santorum retort: "If Mitt Romney's an financial heavyweight, we're in trouble."
Apart from a pair of Tv interviews, Santorum spent the day visiting a pair of churches in Louisiana, sharing how his faith has shaped his political profession and his opposition to abortion rights and gay marriage. He didn't mention Romney or any of his other Republican opponents during talks at each churches.
He produced clear he did not plan to exit the race anytime soon, saying in Bossier City, La., "One in the great blessings I've had in each political campaign is folks underestimate me, individuals underestimate what God can do."
But, he was curt when asked about his odds in Illinois.
"Keep working," Santorum mentioned immediately after services there.
"That's all we can do."
Santorum spoke with CNN's "State from the Union" and ABC's "This Week." Romney appeared on "Fox News Sunday," and Priebus was interviewed on CBS' "Face the Nation."
primarias 2012 puerto rico, missouri caucus, pro ana, resultados primarias 2012 puerto rico, tonga
Romney, in turn, expressed self-confidence that he'd prevail.
"I can't let you know specifically how the procedure is going to perform," Romney stated. "But I bet I am going to come to be the nominee."
Each are aggressively competing in the next two states to vote. Illinois, a far more moderate Midwestern state, is noticed as a lot more friendly territory for Romney, even though Santorum may be the favorite inside the a lot more conservative Southern state of Louisiana.
Mitt Romney added to his advantage more than his GOP rivals in the delegate tally by winning the Puerto Rico presidential major on Sunday.
CBS Info declared Romney the projected winner on Sunday evening. By virtue of the margin of his victory, Romney appeared on track to capture most - if not all - from the U.S. territory's 20 delegates by virtue of winning more than 50 percent in the well-liked vote. (Any candidate who wins at the least half of the common vote wins all of Puerto Rico's delegates.)
The Puerto Rico main, alongside caucuses held this weekend in Missouri, marked a further step inside the extended principal campaign, which has principally narrowed to a battle amongst Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Reflecting the ferocity of their battle to amass the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination, both Romney and Santorum traveled to Puerto Rico through the latter half of last week.
Romney said on Saturday for the duration of his stop by that he was "cautiously optimistic" he would win the primary in Puerto Rico, where he enjoys the support of Gov. Luis Fortuño and his political organization.
"I care about you. I care about the individuals of Puerto Rico," Romney stated. "Politics in puerto rico is spoken with power and passion."
Both candidates spoke to a major issue in the territory - the prospect of producing it the 51st state within the U.S. - for the duration of their visit. Romney has mentioned he would help statehood if a majority of Puerto Rico voters help it. Santorum landed within a smaller political firestorm, even though, by suggesting that Puerto Ricans adopt English as their lone official language as a condition for statehood.
Santorum backtracked, and blamed the media, whom he accused of taking his comments out of context.
“For a person to misrepresent and absolutely fabricate something that I by no means stated or even intimated is extremely disappointing,” he mentioned. “Hopefully that can set the record straight right here and let people today know that rick Santorum has been and will continue to become a friend of Puerto Rico."
The major caps a weekend which also featured a caucus on Saturday in Missouri, which was distinct from the major the state had held in February. Santorum won that main - in addition to caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado that day - inside a sweep which helped rejuvenate his campaign. But that Missouri vote was essentially meaningless; Romney didn't campaign there, and the outcome had no bearing on the delegate count.
On Saturday, Missouri Republicans will caucus on the county level to elect delegates. Those delegates, in turn, will elect and bind national delegates towards the candidates at congressional delegate caucuses on April 21 and at the state convention on June 2.
Simply because there is no formal straw poll accompanying this weekend’s caucuses, NBC News won't declare any formal “winner” within the contest.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who fell brief of his goal of knocking out his GOP foes using a string of early caucus and principal victories, has the advantage over his GOP foes. He had won 423 delegates by means of last week, based on the NBC News delegate count; Santorum has won 184, Newt Gingrich 137, and 34 for Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
The contests serve as a precursor to the larger primary on Tuesday in Illinois, where Romney, Santorum and Gingrich have all fought for delegates alongside a victory in the statewide popular vote.
Romney was in Illinois on Sunday following his return from Puerto Rico. Santorum was there earlier in the weekend,
Santorum spoke with CNN's "State from the Union" and ABC's "This Week." Romney appeared on "Fox News Sunday," and Priebus was interviewed on CBS' "Face the Nation."
primarias 2012 puerto rico, missouri caucus, pro ana, resultados primarias 2012 puerto rico, tonga
Romney, in turn, expressed self-confidence that he'd prevail.
"I can't let you know specifically how the procedure is going to perform," Romney stated. "But I bet I am going to come to be the nominee."
Each are aggressively competing in the next two states to vote. Illinois, a far more moderate Midwestern state, is noticed as a lot more friendly territory for Romney, even though Santorum may be the favorite inside the a lot more conservative Southern state of Louisiana.
Mitt Romney added to his advantage more than his GOP rivals in the delegate tally by winning the Puerto Rico presidential major on Sunday.
CBS Info declared Romney the projected winner on Sunday evening. By virtue of the margin of his victory, Romney appeared on track to capture most - if not all - from the U.S. territory's 20 delegates by virtue of winning more than 50 percent in the well-liked vote. (Any candidate who wins at the least half of the common vote wins all of Puerto Rico's delegates.)
The Puerto Rico main, alongside caucuses held this weekend in Missouri, marked a further step inside the extended principal campaign, which has principally narrowed to a battle amongst Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Reflecting the ferocity of their battle to amass the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination, both Romney and Santorum traveled to Puerto Rico through the latter half of last week.
Romney said on Saturday for the duration of his stop by that he was "cautiously optimistic" he would win the primary in Puerto Rico, where he enjoys the support of Gov. Luis Fortuño and his political organization.
"I care about you. I care about the individuals of Puerto Rico," Romney stated. "Politics in puerto rico is spoken with power and passion."
Both candidates spoke to a major issue in the territory - the prospect of producing it the 51st state within the U.S. - for the duration of their visit. Romney has mentioned he would help statehood if a majority of Puerto Rico voters help it. Santorum landed within a smaller political firestorm, even though, by suggesting that Puerto Ricans adopt English as their lone official language as a condition for statehood.
Santorum backtracked, and blamed the media, whom he accused of taking his comments out of context.
“For a person to misrepresent and absolutely fabricate something that I by no means stated or even intimated is extremely disappointing,” he mentioned. “Hopefully that can set the record straight right here and let people today know that rick Santorum has been and will continue to become a friend of Puerto Rico."
The major caps a weekend which also featured a caucus on Saturday in Missouri, which was distinct from the major the state had held in February. Santorum won that main - in addition to caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado that day - inside a sweep which helped rejuvenate his campaign. But that Missouri vote was essentially meaningless; Romney didn't campaign there, and the outcome had no bearing on the delegate count.
On Saturday, Missouri Republicans will caucus on the county level to elect delegates. Those delegates, in turn, will elect and bind national delegates towards the candidates at congressional delegate caucuses on April 21 and at the state convention on June 2.
Simply because there is no formal straw poll accompanying this weekend’s caucuses, NBC News won't declare any formal “winner” within the contest.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who fell brief of his goal of knocking out his GOP foes using a string of early caucus and principal victories, has the advantage over his GOP foes. He had won 423 delegates by means of last week, based on the NBC News delegate count; Santorum has won 184, Newt Gingrich 137, and 34 for Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
The contests serve as a precursor to the larger primary on Tuesday in Illinois, where Romney, Santorum and Gingrich have all fought for delegates alongside a victory in the statewide popular vote.
Romney was in Illinois on Sunday following his return from Puerto Rico. Santorum was there earlier in the weekend,
