Mitt Romney rolled to a double-digit victory in Washington state's Republican presidential caucuses Saturday night, his fourth campaign triumph in a row and a fresh show of strength in the run-up to 10 Super Tuesday contests all across America.
Rick Santorum and Ron Paul battled for second place, while Newt Gingrich ran a distant fourth.
Romney's victory came on the heels of twin primary triumphs over Santorum earlier in the week in hard-fought Michigan and lightly contested Arizona, as well as a narrow win over Paul in Maine caucuses earlier in February.
Returns from caucuses in 43% of Washington state's precincts showed Romney with 37% of the vote, while Paul and Santorum each had 24%. Gingrich was drawing 11%.
There were 40 delegates at stake, and a likelihood that at least two of the contenders for the nomination to oppose President Barack Obama would add to their totals.