Romney Takes RI; Moves Closer to Nomination

Mitt Romney continued his march toward a showdown with President Barack Obama, winning Rhode Island's primary Tuesday with 63 percent of the vote, 8,682 votes state-wide.

Locally, Romney won Woonsocket with 55.7 percent of Republican voters, 233 votes, according to the RI Board of Elections.

The former Massachusetts governor defeated Ron Paul, the closest challenger, who received 30.9 percent, 129 votes. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich checked in with 6.7 percent, 28 votes, while Sen. Rick Santorum, whose name remained on the ballot despite his decision to back out of the race two weeks ago, captured 5.7 percent, 24 votes.

On the Democratic side, President Barack Obama, who was running unopposed, won 73.4 percent of the Woonsocket tally, 245 votes. 

Romney won the local vote in most cities and towns, but by collecting more than 15 percent of the overall vote, Paul earned at least a share of the 19 delegates up for grabs in the primary. Rhode Island is the only state in which the GOP splits the delegate pool, according to the WRNI's On Politics blog.

There were 200 total delegates at stake in Tuesday’s votes in Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. With most numbers in, Romney appeared headed for a sweep nationally, taking Delaware with 57 percent of the vote, Connecticut with 67 percent, Pennsylvania with 60 percent. Romney was leading New York with only 7 percent reporting as of late Tuesday night.

Going into Tuesday, Romney held 698 total delegates, leading Santorum by more than 400, according to the New York Times delegate tally. He needs 1,144 to clinch the Republican nomination.

Local results had to be personally delivered to the RI Board of Elections office on Branch Avenue in Providence tonight by Board of Canvassers Manager Estelle Corriveau. A software glitch prevented the Woonsocket Board of Canvassers from tallying votes in the city, so Corriveau made the trip.