Romney Might Lose Maine After All

One last county to vote tomorrow
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 17, 2012 8:06 AM CST
Romney Might Lose Maine After All
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at the Cuyahoga County Lincoln Day Dinner in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Much like his "victory" in Iowa, reports of Mitt Romney's victory in Maine may have been premature— this time because the caucus isn't actually over. The state has decided to let one last county vote tomorrow, the New York Times reports, and since less than 200 votes separate Romney from Ron Paul, that could well swing the outcome. Bad weather had forced rural Washington County to postpone its caucus, meaning it was excluded from last week's tally, as were the results of some caucuses that were held.

The state's Republican chairman argued that Washington County's absence wouldn't swing the total, because only eight people there had voted for Paul in 2008. But Paul had argued the decision was undemocratic, and that, plus the uncounted towns, sparked an outrage against the state party, which quickly said it would "reconfirm" last week's total, and count Washington. Turnout could be unusually high, since it's the only county voting and supporters of both candidates know precisely how narrow the deficit is. (More Mitt Romney stories.)

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