Romney thanks Maine voters -- in a statement

[February 13, 2012]  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 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."

[Associated Press; By STEVE PEOPLES]

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