Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won the Guam and
Northern Mariana Island caucuses Saturday, securing all 18 delegates. Mr. Romney noted the importance of winning caucuses in a region well
outside of U.S. boundaries Saturday, as Guam is just over 1,600 miles
north of Australia. Most of the Republican voters in the U.S.
territories are U.S. military personnel.
“The people of Guam have always stood bravely for America and the
values we hold dear,” said Mr. Romney in a statement. “I am honored to
have won the Guam caucuses, an important milestone in my quest to
restore America to the principles and practices that made us great.”
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum finished the Northern
Mariana Island caucuses in second place with six percent of the votes.
He was trailed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron
Paul, who were both tied with three percent in the island caucuses. The former Massachusetts governor sent his son, Matt Romney, to the
islands to give a campaign speech leading up to the caucuses on
Saturday.
“I’m obviously thrilled that it’s a unanimous decision,” said Matt Romney, in reaction to his father’s victory. Mr. Romney himself also visited Saipan, the largest of the 15
different Northern Mariana islands, and attended a private event with
the islands’ governor, Benigno Fitial, The New York Post reports. “Now the voters of the Northern Mariana Islands nearly 8,000 miles
from Washington, D.C. have spoken. And what they’ve said today is that
they want to bring change to their beautiful islands by bringing change
to our nation’s capital,” said Mr. Romney at the event.
The win gives Mr. Romney 9 more delegates to add to his total. None of Mr. Romney’s rival candidates visited Guam or the Northern
Marianas. Their absence shows Mr. Romney’s huge spending advantage in
the primary, an aspect of his campaign that has been highly criticized
by his rival candidates. “The Northern Mariana Islands may be far away from the mainland, but
one of the great things about our democracy is that every voice has a
chance to be heard in selecting a presidential candidate,” said Mr.
Romney.
Also on Saturday, Mr. Santorum won the Kansas Republican caucuses,
with early returns showing that he carried over 50 percent of the votes
in Kansas. Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum will now focus on Tuesday, where the
regionally popular Mr. Gingrich is hoping to revive his campaign with
wins in Alabama and Mississippi.