Romney gets head start in Colo. with win 4 years ago

Organized campaign from win still in place

After sweeping Nevada, it’s on to Colorado, where the organization that helped Romney win the caucuses in 2008 has stayed strong.

GREELEY, Colo. — It may be a fourman race in Colorado, but one candidate clearly has had a head start.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won the state’s Republican caucuses with 60% of the vote in 2008, while his nearest competitor, Sen. John Mccain, received 18%. Romney supporters here say the organization that led to that big win four years ago has never gone away.

“He had a wonderful organization here . . . and I believe they stayed in touch. They were well, well organized at that time and they basically took so many of the caucuses it was phenomenal,” said Colorado state Rep. B. J. Nikkel. “I believe he'll do even better this time.”

Romney’s campaign is well organized and will have enough speakers to represent him at various precincts during caucuses Tuesday, said state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, Romney’s honorary Colorado campaign chairman.

Nikkel and Stapleton are two of the dozens of statewide and local elected and former- elected officials who have endorsed Romney and who hope to help make Colorado the latest win for the Romney campaign.

Minnesota also holds caucuses Tuesday.

With 83% of the precincts reporting, Romney swept Nevada caucuses Saturday with 48%, more than double the support of former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who finished second with about 22%.

Colorado’s 36 delegates will not be awarded in Tuesday’s caucuses. They will be chosen during district and state conventions this spring, which other campaigns hope will help them in the long run.

“We've been Id’ing voters ( by phone) for the last week and a half,” Tom Lucero, Gingrich's Colorado spokesman, said of the emphasis on securing delegates. “We have no illusions about what's going to happen on Tuesday.”

Rep. Ron Paul’s campaign has the same strategy, said Dan Cochran, a Paul supporter from Windsor, Colo. “This is all about getting the delegates,” he said.

Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call, who is staying neutral in the race, said while Romney appears to be the best organized in the state, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum has gotten praise because of his willingness to stick to the issues and his values message.

Santorum spoke Saturday at the annual Lincoln Day dinner here and warned the crowd of more than 600 activists against selecting a “well- oiled weathervane” who would change directions with the political winds.

Santorum billed himself as a candidate with endless potential who has run a clean campaign.

“I'm not a household name like Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich; we have potential to grow,” Santorum said.

“I had many opportunities to take shots at governor Romney for the way he conducted himself in business,” he said, “and I had many opportunities to take shots at speaker Gingrich for the same — but this race isn't about that; it's about big issues."

Stapleton said Santorum deserves credit for his ability to canvass the state, much like he did for the Iowa caucuses.

By Ethan Miller, Getty Images Nevada winner: Mitt Romney greets supporters during an election party Saturday at the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas. He easily won the state’s caucuses.

By Evan Vucci, AP Distant second: Former House speaker Newt Gingrich shakes hands during a campaign event last week in Las Vegas. He took about 22% of the caucus vote.