Montana voters are headed to the polls on Tuesday to vote in the state's GOP primary, and Ron Paul supporters are hoping to make a statement by challenging Mitt Romney in the Treasure State.
Ron Paul suppoters have long been organizing in Montana (see Paul's local grassroots site here), banking on the libertarian candidate's delegate strategy to make a dent into Romney's lead. Paul supporters are hoping that by chipping away at Romney's delegate lead, they can make an impact at the GOP convention in Tampa, Florida this summer.
It will not be easy for Ron Paul, however, as Romney has a solid lead over Paul in Montana.
In addition to Paul's race against Romney, U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT) is challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), which has opened up the state's sole seat in the House.
Now that Rehberg is giving up his congressional seat for the run against Tester, there are 10 different Montanans looking to take over his spot, three Republicans and seven Democrats. Steve Daines is favored to win the Republican nomination, but voters will need to watch the 7-way Democratic primary to see who comes out on top.
PolicyMic will be following the results of the Montana primary live. For real-time updates, refresh this page.
UPDATE: Wednesday 8:44 AM By Wednesday morning, 531 of 794 (or 67%) of precincts are reporting. Romney (the winner) has 69% (83,182 votes), Paul has 14% (17,037 votes), Santorum received 9% (10,839 votes), and Gingrich has 4% (5,275 votes).
11:31 PM 33 of 794 (or 4%) of precincts are reporting. Romney has 71% (37,550 votes), Paul has 13% (6,803 votes), Santorum has 8% (4,457 votes), and Gingrich has 4% (2,058 votes). Check back in the morning for final updates.
11:19 PM 3% reporting: Romney has 71% (33,780 votes), Paul has 13% (6,094 votes), Santorum has 8% (4,025 votes), and Gingrich has 4% (1,864 votes).
10:57 PM With 1% of precincts reporting, Mitt Romney has 73% of the votes, followed by Ron Paul with 11% of the votes.
10:45 PM CNN is projecting that Steve Bullock will win the Democratic gubernatorial primary, and Rep. Denny Rehberg will win the Republican Senate primary.
10:26 PM With precincts only partially reporting, Mitt Romney has already been named the projected winner.
9:15 PM Still awaiting the initial results of the Montana primary. 0% reporting.
For live coverage of Rehberg's race against Tester, along with the state's governor race, see here.
