Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Maine Republicans taking part in the state's presidential caucuses this weekend will give the winner a political boost -- and nothing else.

No delegates will be awarded through the caucus gatherings, which began yesterday and continue today and tomorrow. The Maine Republican Party said voters will participate in caucuses held in 80 percent of municipalities, up from 54 percent in 2006.

Maine voters want to ``make some noise before Super Tuesday,'' said Joseph Reisert, chairman of the Government Department at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

More than 20 states including California and New York will hold Republican primaries and caucuses on Feb. 5 that will distribute more than 40 percent of the delegates needed to win the party's presidential nomination.

Republican front-runner John McCain, an Arizona Republican, is fresh off a win over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Texas Representative Ron Paul in Florida's primary.

Maine's caucus is a ``presidential preference poll.'' The 21 delegates to the national convention will be elected at the party's state convention in May and they won't be bound by the caucus results, Reisert said.

Campaign in Maine

Paul is the only Republican candidate to campaign in Maine this year, Reisert said. Tagg Romney, one of Romney's sons, spent yesterday and today attending caucuses in Maine.

The lack of attention to Maine voters is ``doubly insulting'' because advertisements for New Hampshire aired in Maine before that state's Jan. 8 primary, and were cut off afterward, Reisert said.

``Caucusing before Super Tuesday along with the unsettled nature of this race has put Maine into play and driven up interest considerably,'' the state's Republican Party Chairman Mark Ellis said in a statement.

The economy is the issue of most concern to Maine voters, particularly as home heating costs rise and manufacturing jobs are lost, Reisert said.

Nationwide, McCain is favored by 35 percent of Republican voters compared with 19 percent each for Romney and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, according to figures compiled by the Web site pollster.com. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the race Jan. 30, was still factored into the totals.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nadine Elsibai in Washington at nelsibai@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 2, 2008 09:48 EST