Mitt Romney wins in Washington, Ron Paul edges out Santorum for second

by Jamie Klatell - 03/04/12 2:02 AM ET

Mitt Romney won the non-binding caucuses in Washington state on Saturday.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had 38 percent of the vote. Ron Paul took second place with 25 percent of the vote, followed by Rick Santorum at 24 percent. Newt Gingrich trailed with 11 percent.

“The voters of Washington have sent a signal that they do not want a Washington insider in the White House,” said Romney in a statement touting his victory.

“They want a conservative businessman who understands the private sector and knows how to get the federal government out of the way so that the economy can once again grow vigorously,” he added.

{mosads}Washington will eventually send 40 delegates to the Republican National Convention, but they will be chosen later so delegates will not be given to candidates who drop out.

With just three days to go before Super Tuesday, when 10 states hold their nominating contests, the candidates were hoping to pick up some momentum in Washington.

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Paul was the only candidate in Washington on caucus-day. The other three were in Ohio on Saturday evening for a forum on Mike Huckabee’s Fox News show.

In the previous caucus-style competitions, Santorum had won Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota, while Romney had won Maine and Nevada.

This post was updated at 5:15 a.m.

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