Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is projected to win the Wyoming caucuses, according to the Associated Press.

The Republican presidential front-runner picked up seven of 12 delegates in Wyoming with a lead of 17 percentage points, with 96 percent of precincts reporting.

Earlier on Saturday his closest competitor, Rick Santorum, won the Kansas caucuses.

The contests in Kansas and Wyoming left Romney with 454 delegates by the AP's count, more than all his opponents combined. Santorum had 217, while Gingrich had 107 and Paul had 47. Romney's totals included 22 that he picked up earlier in the day in the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. A candidate must win 1,144 delegates to get the Republican presidential nomination.

The races on Saturday were overshadowed somewhat by pivotal upcoming primaries this Tuesday in Mississippi and Alabama. But many people still felt compelled to get out and vote.

"A lot of people said they felt that Romney was better qualified because he's obviously a financial genius; he understands the economic situation in America right now," said Bob Rule, a Republican state committee member from Pinedale, Wyo., in Sublette County, to the Casper Star-Tribune. "To my surprise, it was not the Mormons flocking out here to vote."

Ten percent of Wyoming residents are Mormon.

Read more at the Associated Press.

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.   

 

Tweet