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The Republican National Committee is hopeful it can figure out how to win national elections by following the examples of the 30 Republican governors, according to its new internal review of the 2012 elections, echoing Mitt Romney's advice to the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday. But a closer look at what state those 30 Republican governors govern, and when they got elected, complicates the picture.

The first governor the RNC hailed is Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, who signed a law to save $800 million over five years in Medicaid spending. The Kansas GOP tweeted excitedly about being highlighted as a national model. But the Kansas House of Representatives is 72 percent Republican. The Kansas Senate is 80 percent Republican. That might have something to do with the fact that Kansas looks a lot like the Republican Party. It's 78 percent white. It's a more rural state, but the rural population is shrinking as Latino immigration helps cities grow. According to 2012 exit polls, 39 percent of voters are conservative, 48 percent are moderate, and only 17 percent are liberal. Mitt Romney won with 60 percent of the vote, compared to 47 percent of the vote nationally. There was a big gender gap: 75 percent of white men voted for Romney, while 54 percent of white women did. The state has passed an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment and has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country (photo of an anti-abortion rally in January, above).