Mitt Romney won the straw poll for the Republican presidential nomination in the Washington state Republican Party’s caucuses Saturday.

A record number of Republican voters statewide – 50,764 ­- voted in the straw poll, according to the state party. Kirby Wilbur, the party’s chairman, had predicted about  50,000 would turn out.

“Not only were these attendees excited to have a voice in the Republican nomination process, but they were sending a clear message that President Obama’s lack of economic recovery and disregard of the impact that his extremely high gas prices has on the average Washington working family, or non-working family because of his failed economic policies, will not be tolerated,” he said in a press release.

Republicans will continue their presidential nominating process at conventions at the county level statewide and then the state level at which delegates are chosen to the national convention.

Here are the results of the straw poll:

* Mitt Romney, 19,111 votes, 37.65 percent

* Ron Paul, 12,594 votes, 28.81 percent

* Rick Santorum, 12,089 votes, 23.81 percent

* Newt Gingrich,  5,221, 10.28 percent

* Undecided/other, 1,749 or 3.44 percent

In a statement released following the Republican caucuses, Dwight Pelz, chair of the Washington State Democrats, said “Republican voters today were stuck with a decision between bad and worse for a presidential nominee.  Washingtonians are looking for a leader who will focus on revitalizing the economy and creating jobs, but Mitt Romney and the rest of the GOP slate are too busy pandering to the extreme right wing of their party to focus on the issues that matter to Washington’s middle class families.”