Mitt Romney swept the Guam and Northern Mariana Islands caucuses on Saturday, securing support of all 18 delegates in these U.S. Pacific territories.
As the Republican presidential contest becomes more heated down the wire, every delegate Romney can get will work in his favor — even if those delegates come from geographical areas most Americans can’t find on a map.
Polling data for these territories was almost non-existent, but these territories typically favored the Republican establishment. John McCain easily won these areas in the 2008 GOP primaries.
Romney’s son, the 40-year-old Matt, had been dispatched to Guam and the Marianas to campaign for his father.
"The people of Guam have always stood bravely for America and the values we hold dear," Romney said in a statement. "I am honored to have won the Guam caucuses, an important milestone in my quest to restore America to the principles and practices that made us great."
All 251 delegates from the island's 19 villages backed Romney.
"The Northern Mariana Islands may be far away from the mainland, but one of the great things about our democracy is that every voice has a chance to be heard in selecting a presidential candidate," Romney said in a statement.
"What they've said today is that they want to bring change to their beautiful islands by bringing change to our nation's capital," Romney said.
As the GOP presidential race tightens with Romney failing to hit a knockout blow against the surging Rick Santorum, Romney will undoubtedly take delegate wins where he can get them.
Of the 12 remaining Republican presidential nomination contests in the month of March, six are located outside the continental U.S. The Virgin Islands will join Guam and the Northern Marianas, in holding their caucuses this Saturday. Romney is expected to also do well in the Virgin Islands contest. Hawaii and American Samoa follow with caucuses on Tuesday, March 13, and Puerto Rico will hold a March 18 primary. The 79 delegates up for grabs on these islands could very well be the delegate boost Romney needs to secure the nomination.
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