Mitt Romney Wins Wyoming Caucus Vote, Fred Thompson Places Second
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won the Saturday caucus vote in Wyoming, a result not unexpected given the money he poured into the state and his sizable Mormon population. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson placed second while Rep. Duncan Hunter came in third.
Wyoming's caucus vote was more establishment-oriented than that of Iowa and only a select number of members of the Republican Party's central committee and precinct delegates had voting powers.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, came away with eight delegates while Thompson won two and Hunter one.
Thompson had the support of the state's leading pro-life organization, Right to Life of Wyoming.
As a result of the process, most media outlets and some of the presidential candidates ignored the state even though it jumped to second in the presidential selection process. New Hampshire, the traditional second state, has received significantly more attention.
The results are a disappointment for Rep. Ron Paul, who, like Romney, Thompson and Hunter, was one of the few to make an appearance in the state. Paul led a Cheyenne rally with hundreds of people and his campaign aggressively targeted the state.
The Wyoming caucus may provide Romney a boost after his distant second place showing in Iowa behind Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who won the first primary battleground.
But with little media attention, he and other candidates who finished down the line in Iowa will need a stronger showing in New Hampshire to have a chance at capturing the nomination.
Current polling data in New Hampshire shows Arizona Sen. John McCain leading, Romney in second and Huckabee third. Paul and Rudy Giuliani are in a race for fourth..
About Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and politician from the state of Michigan and later Massachusetts. Formerly the 70th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Romney is currently seeking the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election.[1]
Romney is a former CEO of Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, and the co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm. After a life in business and as the CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympics, Romney was elected as Massachusetts Governor in 2002. Romney served one term and did not seek re-election in 2006; his term expired January 4, 2007.
Early life and education
Mitt Romney is the son of former Michigan Governor and 1968 presidential candidate George W. Romney, and 1970 U.S. Senate candidate Lenore Romney. He was named "Willard" after hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, his father's best friend.[3] Mitt, his middle name, comes from his father's cousin Milton, who played quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1925 to 1929.[4] Mitt Romney has three older siblings: Lynn Romney Keenan, Jane Romney Robinson, and G. Scott Romney.[5] He has been involved in politics from an early age, having joined his father in pro-civil rights marches.[6]
Mitt Romney graduated from the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1965.[7] After attending Stanford University for two quarters, Romney served in France for 30 months as a missionary for LDS Church.[8] In June 1968, Romney was involved in a serious car accident while driving fellow missionaries in southern France. Another vehicle hit Romney's car head on; the fault for the accident, which left one person dead, has been attributed to the driver of the other vehicle.[9]
After his mission service, Romney attended Brigham Young University, where he graduated as valedictorian, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in 1971. In 1975, Romney graduated from a joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration program coordinated between Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. He graduated cum laude from the law school and was named a Baker Scholar for graduating in the top five percent of his business school class
