A day before Maine was to hold more caucuses, the state Republican Party on Friday afternoon reaffirmed that Mitt Romney was still leading Ron Paul in the caucuses that had been held so far.

The party recounted the votes for its nonbinding straw poll after complaints from some towns, like Belfast and Waterville, that their votes were omitted from the official tally that party officials announced last Saturday.

Those results showed Mr. Romney ahead of Mr. Paul by 194 votes; the results of the recount announced Friday showed him ahead by 239 votes.

Only 5,814 ballots have been cast so far in Maine’s convoluted Republican caucuses, amounting to about 2 percent of the state’s registered Republicans.

But these results are awaiting caucuses that have not yet been held. Still to come are votes from rural Washington County, where caucuses will be held Saturday, as well as towns in a few other counties around the state.

The party had planned all along to announce the results of its straw poll last Saturday knowing that several towns would not have voted. But it did not predict the uproar that ensued, much of it initially from Paul supporters who were furious that the results did not include many towns that might have given them the edge.

The outrage grew as the new media further scrutinized the caucus process, and many Maine officials became embarrassed at the Byzantine nature and the party’s complicated rules.

Party officials now say they will not announce the final results of the straw poll until March 10, after all towns have voted and reported their results.

The presidential straw poll is a meaningless beauty contest unrelated to the more important selection of the state’s 24 delegates, which will take place at a state party convention in May.

The distended process, and the fact that the delegates, once selected, are not bound to vote for a particular candidate, have reduced the state’s relevance in the national nominating process.