Local GOP Primary Vote Mirrors

State Results Favoring Romney

More than 4,500 taxpayers turned out April 24 to vote on Newtown’s municipal budget (see related story), while 1,154 local Republicans took opportunity to exercise their privilege to cast another vote Tuesday in the GOP Presidential Primary.

Republican Registrar Karin Aurelia reported that Republican presidential candidate and likely GOP nominee Mitt Romney captured 797 votes, versus 136 for candidate Ron Paul and 121 for Newt Gingrich. Despite the recent suspension of his campaign, Rick Santorum still drew 82 votes Tuesday, while 18 voters cast uncommitted ballots — which only have a bearing on state party convention delegates.

The highest number of primary votes, 424, were cast at the same middle school polling location as the Newtown budget. District 2 registered 366 GOP ballots, District 3-1 registered 208 and District 3-2 just 103 ballots over the 14 hours polls remained open.

Fifty-three absentee ballots were also cast for the primary, Ms Aurelia reported.

After Tuesday’s primary wins in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Delaware, Mr Romney is refocusing his efforts on challenging President Barack Obama, raising cash for the battle ahead and reconciling with Mr Santorum.

“Tonight is the start of a new campaign,” the former Massachusetts governor said as he celebrated a Tuesday sweep of five primaries in New Hampshire, where he owns a home.

“After 43 primaries and caucuses, many long days and not a few long nights, I can say with confidence — and gratitude — that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility,” he told supporters. He urged all who are struggling in a shaky economy to “hold on a little longer — a better America begins tonight.”

The contests were the first since Mr Santorum conceded the race, and the former Pennsylvania senator said Tuesday he intends to sit down with Mr Romney’s representatives Wednesday and Romney himself in the next week or two.

Following Tuesday’s five-state sweep of Republican presidential primaries, Mr Romney added at least 146 delegates including the entire Connecticut contingent.

A total of 209 delegates were at stake in five states. Mr Romney had a total of 844 delegates, just 300 shy of the 1,144 delegates it will take to win the Republican nomination to challenge President Obama in November.

Jerry Labriola, chairman of the state Republican Party, said he believes Connecticut could potentially become a battle ground state.

“When people start to look closely at [President] Obama’s economic record, what Mitt Romney brings to the table will look very good to Connecticut voters. After all, he’s a moderate, former New England governor with recognition in our state,” Mr Labriola said. “I believe he’s a candidate that Connecticut voters will become very comfortable with during the general election campaign.”

“Garnering two-thirds of the vote in a four-way race is no small feat,” Mr Labriola said. He attributed part of the victory to Monday night’s visit to the state by Mr Romney’s wife, Ann, who was the keynote speaker at a sell-out fundraiser in Stamford for the state’s GOP.

According to The Connecticut Mirror, she was the keynote speaker at Prescott Bush Awards Dinner, an annual fundraiser named for the late US senator from Connecticut who was the father of one president and grandfather of another.

When Ann Romney agreed to keynote the Bush dinner three weeks ago, it was a seen as a coup, landing the candidate’s wife on the eve of a Connecticut primary that suddenly seemed relevant as Rick Santorum was surging.

State turnout to the polls for the Republican primary mirrored Newtown, however, and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said preliminary reports Tuesday night from local voting officials show that voter turnout ranged from just 10 to 13 percent.

“I think there is less motivation for some folks to go to the polls when they think the deal is done,” Mr Labriola acknowledged.

Tuesday’s contest marked the first presidential primary since Connecticut officials decided last year to change the date in hopes of creating a regional primary with New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Delaware, theoretically giving the state’s voters more of an impact on the primary process. Connecticut had been a Super Tuesday state, holding its primary in February.

“You never know if it was going to make any difference,” said Ms Merrill, when asked if the change was a mistake. “Clearly, by now it’s sewn up. But the primary four years ago was still interesting at this point. You never know. Hard to call it.”

A March Quinnipiac poll showed President Obama winning a potential match-up with Mr  Romney, 53 percent to 37 percent. The survey of 1,622 registered voters has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

(Newtown Bee Associate Editor John Voket contributed to this story.)