Santorum Wins Kansas; Romney Wins Wyoming and Three Territories

A number of caucuses were held or finished on Saturday: Kansas, Wyoming, and three U.S. territories (Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands). The territories have very small populations, but each receives a handful of delegates, making them disproportionately influential voters. Back on the continent, Wyoming and Kansas both voted according to their regions: Wyoming voted for Romney and Kansas for Rick Santorum. The margin in Kansas was overwhelming, 51% to 21%. This demonstrates that although he's won or been very competitive in some key Midwestern states (Iowa, Michigan, Ohio), Romney has his limits. Much of the Midwest remains firmly in the Santorum camp. Romney will have to pick and choose his battles, since some Midwestern states are more open to him than others.

Kansas Caucus
Santorum -- 51%
Romney -- 21%
Gingrich -- 14%
Paul -- 13%

In Wyoming, Western voters cast their ballots in favor of Romney. As in so many other Western states, Wyoming's Mormon population was a valuable asset for Romney. Here, too, a candidate saw his limits: Santorum lost by a wide margin even though the Anti-Romney vote was united behind Santorum. Newt Gingrich received almost no votes. Thus, an early exit by Gingrich would not be the "silver bullet" Santorum often claims.

Wyoming Caucus (91% reporting)
Romney -- 52%
Santorum -- 32%
Paul -- 14%
Gingrich -- 1%

Romney easily carried each of the three island territories holding caucuses on Saturday. Romney should take this as a positive sign for the remaining islands voting this month: American Samoa, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Among the islands that have voted so far, Mitt Romney's establishment support has given him an overwhelming advantage. In Guam, for example, Republicans voted unanimously for Romney. The Republican chairman for the U.S. Virgin Islands announced Romney won that territory's caucus, but no numbers have been reported so far.

Guam Caucus
Romney -- 100%
Santorum -- 0%
Gingrich -- 0%
Paul -- 0%

Northern Mariana Islands Caucus
Romney -- 87%
Santorum -- 6%
Paul -- 3%
Gingrich -- 3%