By MICHAEL NOYES
     HELENA –  By all accounts the Republicans will likely have already chosen a presidential candidate by the time Montana voters go to the polls in June.
     “Historically speaking, the nomination is usually decided long before Montanans cast a vote,” state Republican Party Chairman Bowen Greenwood said.
     That doesn’t mean Republicans in the state aren’t watching closely ahead of what could be a pivotal primary in Florida next Tuesday.
     Touching base with party officials and political experts around the state, Montana Watchdog found most political insiders uncertain about which candidate has the most support in Montana at this point.

     “I hear a lot of support for (all) four candidates” that still remain in the race, Greenwood told Montana Watchdog on Monday.
     Billie Orr, chairwoman of the Bozeman Tea Party, said a survey of the parking lot at their events will show bumper stickers for each candidate.
     “I think it’s all over the board,” Orr. “We all have our own personal candidates.”
     The candidate for House Speaker Mike Milburn, R-Cascade, is Mitt Romney.
     “He’s probably the strongest candidate who can beat Obama,” Milburn said.
      Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have won the last two Republican primaries and are battling at the top of the polls in Florida.
     Looking at the race from a purely political scientist’s viewpoint, Paul Haber, chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Montana, said he was surprised by Gingrich’s ability to revive his campaign and said the race is “much more interesting because he’s there.”
     Haber said a race between Gingrich and Obama would be interesting because they both have high IQs and really know Washington.
     “I think it would be a lot more interesting if Gingrich got the nomination,” Haber said. “I think it would be good for the country … Obama and Romney, they’re much more similar.”
     During the race Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has sometimes been questioned on his conservative credentials.
     “There’s concern about Romney on his conservative values,” Milburn said. “When you’re the governor of a Democratic state you tend to look more moderate.”
       While Ron Paul and Rick Santorum trail in recent polls, Paul had a particularly strong showing four years ago in Montana, finishing second.
      “I wouldn’t be shocked to see him do well again,” Haber said of Paul.
     Montana’s primary is scheduled for June 5. Greenwood said Democrats and independents are allowed to choose a Republican ballot and vote in the party’s presidential primary.
     While Republican Party leaders wouldn’t say which candidate they expected to win, they were united in saying they would get behind the winner.
     “Anybody but Obama,” Orr said. “Any candidate that comes out of this field will be better than Obama.”

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