straw poll

Description

WASHINGTON - Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster said Friday that he doesn't know whether Mitt Romney will be declared the winner of the Maine caucuses' GOP presidential straw poll or suffer a setback to Ron Paul. But Webster said he's pretty sure of two things: The race is close and the winner of the previously low-profile Maine caucuses will get a needed boost. "What will happen is that either Paul or Romney will win by 200 votes, in my opinion, one way or the other," Webster said Friday, although he said he did not know the tally from the caucuses that have been held statewide. Webster and independent analysts say Maine won't make or break Romney -- who lost the front-runner status he gained with wins in Florida and Nevada by losing Tuesday to Rick Santorum in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. But a win by Romney would help change a narrative that his campaign is struggling. A win by Paul would show that the U.S. House member from Texas can actually come in first in a 2012 GOP contest, something he hasn't done. Paul spent two days in Maine last month, drawing large crowds, and is spending today in the state, visiting caucus sites in Sanford, Lewiston and New Gloucester and holding a party in Portland. "I think it will be important to see what (Maine Republicans) think," Webster said. "I do think it is important to Romney and Paul that they do well here."