Romney vote puts CNMI on nat’l political map

Mitt Romney’s decision to send his son and daughter-in-law to Saipan on Friday and his sweeping victories during Saturday’s caucuses thousands of miles away in the Pacific has put the CNMI on the national political map amid local economic and immigration troubles.

Romney picked up nine delegates from the CNMI and an equal number from Guam to help inch toward the 1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican presidential nomination.

The former Massachusetts governor won an overwhelming 87 percent or 740 of the 848 votes cast on Saipan, Tinian and Rota from 7am to 7pm on Saturday. Rick Santorum got only 6 percent or 53 votes. Ron Paul got 3 percent or 28 votes. Newt Gingrich also got 3 percent, or 27 votes.

“Now the voters of the Northern Mariana Islands-nearly 8,000 miles from Washington, D.C.-have spoken. And what they’ve said today is that they want to bring change to their beautiful islands by bringing change to our nation’s capital,” Romney said in a statement after his victory in the CNMI.

Romney was considered the favorite among local Republicans ahead of the CNMI caucus, thanks to his son Matt and wife Laurie’s visit to Saipan, as well as Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s endorsement.

Fitial, chairman of the Republican Party of the NMI Association, said he was “pleased by the turnout and support” for his “friend, Gov. Mitt Romney.”

The nine delegates from the CNMI are “unbound.” This means they are not obligated to vote for a particular candidate at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida in August but the prospective delegates as well as the three officers separately told the governor and Saipan Tribune they will support Romney.

“I personally spoke to every leading candidate for delegate and I was so pleased to hear that each one of them was supporting Mitt Romney as well. Governor Romney understands the important role the CNMI plays in the Pacific Region and is committed to helping us improve our economy the right way. I was so pleased to talk with Mitt Romney [on Friday] and it was clear from that conversation he will not forgot us here in the CNMI,” Fitial said.

Fitial and his wife Josie cast their vote at 8:55am at the Carolinian Utt in Garapan. The couple stayed for hours at the site of the caucus and delegate election.

Isabel K. Davis, of Dandan, was among those who voted early in Garapan on Saturday.

“I voted for Romney. I think he’s the best, and I hope he becomes president,” she said, adding that her son was at the governor’s residence when Fitial hosted a luncheon for Romney’s son Matt and wife Laurie.

Major news organizations were abuzz with news from both the CNMI and Guam before and after the caucuses.

The Romney campaign’s decision to send the candidate’s son and daughter-in-law marked the first time in CNMI history that a presidential campaign sent a representative to set foot on the islands.

Fitial said the Santorum and Gingrich campaign teams sent him emails last year but nothing came out of those communications.

The CNMI could also expect further reaching out from the Republican Party as well as from President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party campaign ahead of the Nov. 6 presidential elections, residents said during the weekend.

‘Results’

Kodep Ogumoro-Uludong, overall coordinator for the 2012 Republican caucus in the CNMI, read the results of the caucus at past 8pm on Saturday at the Carolinian Utt before party members, volunteers, and the media.

Of the 848 votes cast, 425 were on Saipan, 305 were on Rota, and 118 on Tinian.

Viola Alepuyo, Republican national committeewoman, said while the results for the presidential votes were final and official, the results of the voting for the six of nine delegates from the CNMI to go to the Republican National Convention in Florida in August are still “unofficial” because of the slim margin between two candidates vying for the sixth spot.

Ogumoro-Uludong gave the top six vote-getters among the candidates for delegates to the RNC but in no particular order.

They include Diego C. Blanco, Jose “Joe” R. Lifoifoi, treasurer Ray C. Salas, Efrain Atalig, Joaquin “Jack” T. Ogumoro, and Juan “Liling” C. Reyes.

CNMI Republicans also voted for six alternates.

In no particular order, they are: Juan I. Tenorio, secretary Rita C. Chong-Dela Cruz, Richard B. Seman, Edward M. Deleon Guerrero, Herman Sablan, and Edward Shai.

The governor told Saipan Tribune that each of the delegates to the national convention in Tampa, Florida will have to shoulder their own airfare, hotel and lodging and other expenses, which could be at least $5,000.

Lifoifoi, one of the top vote-getters in Saturday’s election and among the most prominent businessmen in the CNMI, said at 75, this will be his first time to attend a Republican National Convention and is looking forward to it. He reiterated that he will vote for Romney at the convention.

“And I would like to share this experience of attending a national convention with my wife Cecilia,” Lifoifoi said after casting his vote with his wife by his side.

Blanco, also among the elected delegates to the convention, said, “Romney deserves our vote.”

“He sent his son out here to know who we are, what we are all about, and what our concerns are. We’re very touched by the gesture. He has the qualifications and characters I admire. He’s a good manager, he became successful by his hard work and skills,” Blanco said.

Herman Sablan, who was elected an alternate delegate, said there’s a “very good chance to have a Republican president once again.”

Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) said he also voted for Romney, owing to the candidate’s son’s personal stories about his father’s character and values.