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Texas congressman Ron Paul, meanwhile, reveled in his second-place win in Minnesota and vowed to keep collecting delegates to take to the GOP's national convention this summer. To be fair, Tuesday's contests will have little bearing on the race for delegates. Missouri's nonbinding primary in particular was little more than an extensive warm-up routine. The state will hold an official caucus in March. But even symbolic victories can produce or slow down momentum. Romney's camp began downplaying the results hours before the voting began. Rich Beeson, his political director, released a memo earlier in the day noting that even Sen. John McCain lost 19 states on the way to capturing the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. And Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, the director of Romney's congressional endorsements, released a statement as the votes began showing his candidate had lost in Blunt's home state. "I congratulate my friend Rick Santorum on his win tonight," Blunt said. "But the fact remains that this is a nonbinding primary, meaning Missouri's delegates are still very much up for grabs." Following Maine's low-profile caucuses, which conclude Saturday, the candidates will have an extended lull. Beeson recently noted that momentum would be vital heading into the 17-day period without an election, something he likened to a grand canyon with no precedent in modern presidential politics. "If you don't have momentum and resources coming into it, it's going to be hard to have momentum and resources coming out of it," Beeson said. That was a week before he realized his boss would suddenly see his momentum disappear.
[Associated
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