AP: Tuesday could be Paul's big night
<p>Dominic Brauer of Sandpoint, Idaho, holds a sign outside the Bonner County Fairgrounds before a town hall meeting with Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, Monday, March 5, 2012, in Sandpoint. (AP Photo/Matt Mills McKnight)</p>
Since Idaho is now a player in the Republican presidential nomination process, the state has made it onto the Super Tuesday tip sheet put together by the Associated Press' Washington, D.C. bureau.
Here's what they say about how the Gem State could go, and how it matters.
What's at stake
There are 10 states voting Tuesday with 419 Republican delegates up for grabs. Thirty-two of them are in Idaho.
A candidate needs 1,144 delegates to win the party's nomination.
Going into Super Tuesday, 353 delegates have already been won. Romney has 203 delegates; Santorum has 92; Gingrich, 33; and Paul, 25.
Paul's big night?
The anti-war, libertarian-leaning, unorthodox Republican hasn't won a single state. Super Tuesday could change that.
Paul is focusing on the three caucus states — Idaho, North Dakota and Alaska — where a big turnout by his cadre of enthusiastic followers would have the most impact. Even if he doesn't score a win, he's likely to pick up delegates to help power him into this summer's Republican convention with enough clout to promote his ideas.
But his rivals won't make it easy.
Idaho's big Mormon population — about a fourth of its voters — bodes well for Romney, who's a Mormon. Santorum's looking to win in North Dakota, and Romney's trying, too.
Paul, a Texas congressman, may be the only one to journey to Alaska, however; he was in the state Sunday. Meanwhile, Alaska's most famous Republican, Sarah Palin, has been saying some nice things about Gingrich.
Together, the three caucuses pay out 84 delegates (Idaho 32, North Dakota 28, Alaska 24).
Ron Paul spent time in Sandpoint Monday.