WASHINGTON — Rick Santorum is falling so far behind Mitt Romney in the race for Republican convention delegates that his best chance to narrow the gap might be in states that voted weeks ago.
Santorum is trying to improve his lot in states such as Iowa and Washington, where local caucuses were the first step in selecting delegates to the party's national convention.
In those states and a few others, supporters are preparing for county, congressional district and state conventions, where the campaigns hope to keep their delegates and possibly poach some from other candidates.
Santorum's delegate count could use a boost. He trails Romney by 300 delegates and would need to win 74 percent of the delegates in the remaining primaries to clinch the nomination before the national convention in August.
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