City | 8:50 pm | April 25, 2012 | By Nick Defiesta

Romney wins low-turnout Republican primary

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney wiped out his opponents in Connecticut's Republican presidential primary on Tuesday.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney wiped out his opponents in Connecticut's Republican presidential primary on Tuesday. Photo by Wikimedia Commons .

Nearly 60,000 Connecticut voters cast their ballots in Tuesday’s low-profile Republican primary, giving former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 67.5 percent of the vote and all 25 of the state’s delegates.

Romney’s large victory was largely expected given his high polling and fundraising numbers. Tuesday’s primary saw record low turnout among Republicans, as only 14.4 percent of registered Republicans voted for a candidate.

This is the lowest turnout in the Republican primary since the current system was created in advance of the 1980 presidential election, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said. In comparison, 36.8 percent of registered Republicans voted in 2008′s primary featuring Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Texas Sen. Ron Paul came in second on Tuesday, taking 13.5 percent of the vote, followed by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who won 10.3 of voters, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who won 6.8 percent. Santorum dropped out of the primary race two weeks ago, while Gingrich aides have confirmed that he will suspend his campaign next week.

Two percent of GOP primary voters chose the “uncommitted” slot on the ballot, according to Merrill

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