Romney Wins Idaho GOP Caucuses

Idaho Republicans gathered throughout the state and declared Mitt Romney the winner, giving the former Massachusetts governor a landslide victory Tuesday. (See http://bit.ly/yU4hyU for exact results.)

?I congratulate Mitt Romney on his victory tonight in Idaho, and I thank all of our candidates for their work to end Barack Obama?s failed presidency,? said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus in a statement.

The Gem State had a stronger voice in choosing the GOP presidential nominee than in previous years.

Idaho voted in a caucus Tuesday. In the past, state Republicans chose the nominee through primary elections.

Bonneville County GOP Chairman Don Schanz said Idaho is a power player in this election.

Idaho has 32 delegates up for grabs — more than other caucus states like Nevada, Iowa and New Hampshire.

“New Hampshire is important,” Schanz said. “But Idaho has become more important.”

Although there are 32 delegates, if one candidate takes more than half of the statewide vote, “then that candidate will receive all 32,” said Travis Thrope, Idaho Republican Party political director, from Boise. “And it becomes a winner-takes-all situation.”

And that’s what happened with Romney.

The winner-takes-all rule may be why eastern Idaho had seen visits from candidates Romney and Ron Paul.

This process was not a get-in-get-out situation. Large crowds showed up at many locations, and voting in many places took longer than expected.