Ron Paul edged out by Mitt Romney in Maine caucuses

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Mitt Romney is thanking Maine voters after the state party chairman declared him the winner of that state.

The former Massachusetts governor narrowly won Maine's Republican caucuses, state officials announced Saturday night, giving Romney's campaign a much-needed boost after humbling losses in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri earlier in the week.

Romney won just a plurality of the vote, suggesting he still has much work ahead to unite GOP voters behind his candidacy.

He narrowly defeated Texas Rep. Ron Paul, capturing 39 percent to Paul's 36 percent of the vote, according to state Republican Chairman Charlie Webster. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, who didn't actively campaign in Maine, won 18 percent and 6 percent respectively.

The former Massachusetts governor issued a statement instead of delivering a speech.

Romney had visited Maine earlier in the day but he wasn't in the state when he was declared the winner. He was on the West coast and was scheduled to attend a fundraiser.

In the statement, he says that Maine voters sent a clear message that it is past time to send an outsider to the White House. And he cast himself as a conservative with a lifetime of private sector experience, who -- in his words -- "can uproot Washington's culture of taxing and spending and borrowing and endless bureaucracy."