Mitt Romney dodged a bullet by squeaking out a win over Ron Paul by less than 200 votes. It prevents him from having to go into the Michigan and Arizona primaries having lost four contests in a row. This win also moves him into a tie with Rick Santorum with four wins apiece. And it didn’t hurt Romney's cause that he won the CPAC straw poll on the same day. But Maine should have been an easy win for him as it was in 2008. He will have to win Michigan and Arizona to get back on track and regain his former position in the race. He will have 17 days to get ready.
Ron Paul turned in his been performance this far, but he had to be disappointed at falling just short of victory in the one state that he thought he might be able to win. He spent a lot a time in Maine and had a great organization there. It has to make one wonder where he can if he couldn’t win in Maine. However, he’ll likely be unfazed, and stay in the race to continue collecting delegates. He even claims that he will end up getting more delegates from Maine than Romney gets, once the counties that could not participate in the caucuses (due to inclement weather this week) get figured into the process.
Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich skipped Maine, so neither was expecting to get much support there. Santorum, who has seen his national polls numbers skyrocket since his three impressive wins on Tuesday, will now focus on Michigan and possibly Arizona. Gingrich will look to the Super Tuesday states and beyond to get him back into contention for the nomination.
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