W.Va. GOP Convention: Aftermath

West Virginia GOP officials tell The Associated Press that the hope to stage a presidential convention in 2012, excited by Tuesday's outcome.

"They've seen how widely heard, listened to and discussed their opinions were," Bob Fish, the convention's chief executive, told AP. "That's going to make it hard to take it away from them."

AP looks back on the state convention from several angles:

* Such attendees as Robert Rupp, political science professor at West Virginia Wesleyan College, give winner Mike Huckabee the nod for best speech. "Huckabee effectively uses words to connect," Rupp told AP. "He knew who his audience was."

* A Huckabee delegate told AP that Ron Paul supporters were indeed offered three of the 18 at-large seats won by Huckabee in exchange for their supports. Greg Smith said that Mitt Romney's camp had earlier offered Paul backers five seats, but the latter were turned off by "the nastiness, and the bitterness of the Romney people."

* "A majority of state delegates from 30 counties went for Huckabee, up from 18 during the first round. He did particularly well with those from Cabell, Raleigh and Wayne counties," the article said.

* As for Romney, the former Massachusetts governor "sported a majority in 29 counties during the first round, but lost four during the subsequent balloting. His strongest showings were among Kanawha, Marion, Ohio and Upshur county delegates."

The Charleston Gazette, meanwhile, reports that the Charleston convention "confused a lot of registered West Virginia Republicans, who believed they were supposed to go to the polls to vote."