Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney grabbed back some momentum after midweek losses in three states, scoring a narrow win in Maine's caucuses, hours after winning a straw poll of Republican conservative activists.
Results of Maine's non-binding straw poll showed the former Massachusetts governor with 39% support, ahead of libertarian Texas Congressman Ron Paul with 36%.
Former US Senator Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives, who did not campaign in Maine, won 18% and 6% of the vote, respectively.
The Maine outcome capped a good day for Mr Romney, who unexpectedly lost to Mr Santorum, a social conservative, in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado on Tuesday to generate new doubts about his appeal to party conservatives.
Republicans are seeking a nominee to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama in the 6 November general election.
Some 21 delegates will be allocated from Maine. A candidate needs 1,144 delegates to clinch the Republican nomination.
Yesterday, Mr Romney won a closely watched straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, with 38% support to Mr Santorum's 31%.
In a sign of how seriously the Romney campaign took the potential for a fourth consecutive state loss, Mr Romney flew to Portland on Friday for a town hall meeting, and spoke at two of the state's largest caucus sites yesterday.
Sensing a possible victory, Mr Paul hosted a party in Portland yesterday evening. After the results were announced, he told supporters that Mr Romney's margin of victory was so small, "it's almost like we could call it a tie".
Mr Paul also forecast that when Maine's delegates were finally assigned, "we will control the Maine caucus when we go to Tampa" for the Republican convention in August.
Maine had been seen as Mr Paul's best chance to win his first state contest, especially after a two-day visit in late January brought out large crowds.
The next contests in the state-by-state Republican nominating process are in Arizona and Michigan on 28 February.
"Super Tuesday," when ten states hold primaries or caucuses, comes shortly afterward on 6 March.
