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DES MOINES — Rick Santorum won the Iowa caucuses in January, with Mitt Romney a close second, but neither was the true winner this weekend when the delegates who actually will vote at the Republican National Convention were selected. That would be Ron Paul.

The congressman from Texas finished a distant third in the Iowa caucuses more than six months ago, but of the 28 delegates selected Friday and Saturday to head to the national convention, 23 are Paul supporters – and they are not bound to support the victor of the state’s first-in-the-nation voting contest.

It’s part of a quiet strategy by Paul and his backers to amass an army of supporters at the GOP gathering in August in Tampa, Fla., to push Paul’s views on liberty, states’ rights, the monetary system and foreign policy. By working arcane electoral rules and getting supporters into positions of power in local, county and state party operations, the strategy is paying dividends across the nation.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Iowa GOP caucuses

Paul has stopped actively campaigning and has conceded that Romney will be the GOP nominee. It’s unclear whether Paul’s name will be submitted for nomination; mathematically, he does not have the numbers to derail Romney. But his supporters can have an effect on the party in other ways.

“We want to have a real big voice on the platform; we want to influence the direction of the party more than anything else,” said Joel Kurtinitis, a Paul supporter who was pleased after the Saturday vote.

He was Paul’s state director in Iowa until Paul suspended his presidential bid in May, and he said that although he would love to see Paul awarded a prime speaking spot at the convention, his followers’ efforts are about more than one man.

“We’re going to hold up our values and we’re going to bring conservatism back to the mainline of the Republican Party. That’s where my hopes are at and that’s my hope for this convention more than seeing Ron Paul do X, Y and Z,” Kurtinitis said.

Romney and his campaign have treated Paul and his followers deferentially, perhaps mindful of not alienating his incredibly loyal supporters. At the Iowa GOP convention, a Romney staffer who flew in from Boston watched the proceedings but did not get involved. At the Romney table, workers distributed three fliers to conventioneers – a general brochure about his candidacy, an invitation to a rally in Davenport on Monday and a news release that touted Romney’s endorsement by Paul’s son, Rand Paul, and effusively lavished praise on the Kentucky senator who many believe is the heir apparent for Paul’s movement.

But others say the move by the Iowa GOP is a black eye for the state’s caucuses and for the presumptive GOP nominee.

“Embarrassment is the word that comes to my mind,” said Jamie Johnson, who served as Santorum’s state coalitions director in Iowa. The former senator from Pennsylvania, who narrowly won the caucuses but has endorsed Romney since ending his presidential bid in April, appears to have one solitary Iowa delegate who supported him heading to the convention.

“I believe that it seriously puts the Iowa caucuses’ first-in-the-nation status in jeopardy,” Johnson said. “It will be a major embarrassment to Gov. Romney if there is a strong Ron Paul vote from the floor on the night in which the votes are counted.”

Paul is counting on having 200 delegates on the floor who can vote for him, and a few hundred more who are bound to vote for Romney but are his supporters.

“While this total is not enough to win the nomination, it puts us in a tremendous position to grow our movement and shape the future of the GOP!” Paul wrote in an email to supporters last week. “I hope every one of you continues the fight we have advanced so well this year. I hope you will finish your local and state conventions, and, if you were selected as a national delegate, that you will head to Tampa in August to force the Republican Party to listen to the voice of liberty.

“We have never had this kind of opportunity. There will be hundreds of your fellow supporters in Tampa who will be ready and willing to push the Republican Party back to its limited government, liberty roots.”

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Trout National does not formally open until April. But, when you’re Mike Trout, you can invite your friends to play a couple rounds on the course that carries your name.

And so it was that Trout, the best player in Angels history, last week welcomed Torii Hunter, one of the most popular and respected players in Angels history. The course, designed by Tiger Woods and his team, is located in Trout’s hometown of Millville, N.J., and includes a refueling stop in “a concrete bunker tucked behind the 14th tee and styled like a classic baseball dugout.”

Said Hunter: “It’s a great course.”

Hunter could have managed his former teammate next season, had the Angels chosen him to replace Ron Washington. However, for the second time in three years, the Angels interviewed Hunter for their managerial vacancy and then hired someone else — this time, former Angels catcher Kurt Suzuki.

Hunter, speaking Monday at Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast before a fundraiser for Major League Baseball’s Urban Youth Academy in Compton, said he interviewed with Angels general manager Perry Minasian.

Hunter said he believed Suzuki would do well in the position and had no hard feelings about the process.

“It was a great interview,” Hunter said. “We had a good talk. It just didn’t work out.

“The opportunity presented itself. They were looking for a manager, and they decided to interview me for the job. They told me to.

“I still love the Angels. That’s why I did it. That’s why I wanted to do it.”

He felt the same way about his original team, the Minnesota Twins. He said he “put my name in the hat” for the Twins’ managerial vacancy and had informal discussions with the team, but no formal interview.

Hunter declined to discuss details of his interview with Minasian.

The Angels have baseball’s longest playoff drought, now at 11 years, and have finished in last place in back-to-back seasons. Hunter said prospects need to get to Anaheim and start playing with the young players already there.

“I think those guys have got a couple of years under their belts,” he said. “It’s time to go out there and really compete.”

The Angels’ minor league system is widely regarded as one of baseball’s thinnest. Hunter, who worked as a special assistant to Minasian last season, said he sees a fair amount of talent at the lower levels of the system.

“Maybe they don’t win the World Series next year,” Hunter said. “Maybe they don’t go to the playoffs.

“A shift in the team dynamic depends on the pieces that they add. But, in the next two years, you’re going to see these guys, and they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”

Hunter said he is unsure yet whether his business interests — he owns five restaurants and two coffee shops, in addition to commercial real estate investments — will allow him to continue as an Angels special assistant. He hopes to do so.

“I love Kurt Suzuki,” Hunter said. “I played with him with the Twins in 2015, and I played against him forever. I love everything about him. I would love to be there to help him along the way if I can.”

Suzuki agreed to a one-year contract, which puts him in the uncomfortable position of being a lame duck before he manages his first game.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Hunter said. “You’ve got to give him time, and a chance to get to know the fellas. The guy is smart, he’s intelligent, he’s got great relationship skills. So, be patient.”

ATHENS, Greece — Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former California prosecutor, television personality and close ally of President Trump, officially took office Tuesday as the first U.S. female ambassador to Greece.

Guilfoyle, 56, who was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr., presented her diplomatic credentials to Greek President Constantine Tassoulas after being sworn in Sept. 29 in Washington.

The former Fox News host’s arrival comes as the United States works to boost liquefied natural gas exports to eastern Europe through Greek port facilities.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are expected in Athens this week for talks focused on expanding Western gas exports to war-torn Ukraine through a modified multinational pipeline network.

Guilfoyle and the visiting officials are scheduled to meet with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and attend ministerial meetings organized by the Washington-based Atlantic Council.

Since 2018, Greece and the United States have strengthened military ties, including expanding U.S. access to Greek bases and increased involvement of American defense contractors in Greece’s multibillion-dollar armed forces modernization program.

Guilfoyle attended a black-tie welcome reception over the weekend in Athens. Joined by local business leaders and several Cabinet members, she took part in a lively Greek dance — linking arms with other guests and keeping pace as the music sped up.

“I know we will do amazing things for these two exceptional countries,” she told attendees. “I will not disappoint the United States of America. I shall not disappoint Greece.”

At Tuesday’s ceremony, Guilfoyle presented her credentials after the new ambassadors from Norway, Harriet Berg, and Canada, Sonya Thissen.