Puerto Rico Has More Delegates Than New Hampshire

Could Puerto Rico be more important to the 2012 Republican primary than New Hampshire? The tiny island commonwealth with no congressional representation will actually award 23 delegates in its caucus on March 18—11 more than the coveted New Hampshire primary awarded earlier this week. And while about 245,000 people voted in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Puerto Rico’s 2008 caucus yielded a total of 208 votes. However, the only candidate making a push for Puerto Rican support is Ron Paul, whose campaign chairman, Jesse Benton, describes the candidate’s strategy as one focused on delegates and admits this plan is actually based on Obama’s 2008 campaign. “Now we have different ideas about where we would like to take the country, but he ran a brilliant campaign,” said Benton. “He unleashed his grassroots to work hard, get involved in their communities, and really fight for some principles and that’s what we are trying to do.”