Romney rolls to easy win in Nevada GOP caucuses
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Republican presidential front-runner Mitt
Romney cruised to victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night,
notching a second straight triumph over a field of rivals suddenly
struggling to keep pace.
"Thank you NV!," his campaign tweeted as the results were
announced. "Our message of restoring America's greatness continues
to resonate through the west & across the country."
The former Massachusetts governor held a double-digit lead over
his nearest pursuer as the totals mounted in a state where fellow
Mormons accounted for roughly a quarter of all caucus-goers.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul vied
for a distant second. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum
trailed the field.
Returns from 13 of 17 counties showed Romney with 43 percent
support, Gingrich with 24 percent, Paul with 20 percent and
Santorum with 13 percent.
Yet to report its results was Clark County, which includes Las
Vegas and often accounts for half or more of the votes in a
statewide election.
Romney's victory capped a week that began with his double-digit
win in the Florida primary. That contest was as intense as Nevada's
caucuses were sedate - so quiet that they produced little
television advertising, no candidate debates and only a modest
investment of time by the contenders.
A total of 28 Republican National Convention delegates were at
stake in caucuses held across a sprawling state that drew little
attention in the nominating campaign but figures to be a fierce
battleground in the fall between the winner of the GOP nomination
and Democrat President Barack Obama. The state's unemployment rate
was measured at 12.6 percent in December, the worst in the country.
According to the AP count, Romney began the day with 87 of the
1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. Gingrich
had 26, Santorum 14 and Paul 4.
Preliminary results of a poll of Nevada Republicans entering
their caucuses showed that nearly half said the most important
consideration in their decision was a candidate's ability to defeat
Obama this fall, a finding in line with other states.
About one-quarter of those surveyed said they are Mormon,
roughly the same as in 2008, when Romney won with more than a
majority of the vote in a multi-candidate field.
The entrance poll was conducted by Edison Research for The
Associated Press at 25 randomly selected caucus sites. It included
1,553 interviews and had a margin of sampling error of plus or
minus 4 percentage points.
The caucus rules were a demonstration of democracy and a
reflection of religious diversity.
Nevada awarded its delegates in proportion to the caucus vote
totals, meaning that any candidate who captured at least 3.57
percent of the total number of ballots cast would be rewarded. By
contrast, Romney's victory in the Florida primary on Tuesday netted
him all 50 of the delegates at stake there.
While most caucuses were held during the day, an exception was
Clark County, the state's largest. There, party officials arranged
to hold one meeting well after sundown at the request of orthodox
Jews who observe bans on driving, writing or other work-a-day
activities during the Sabbath.
Romney's victory in the state's 2008 caucuses, coupled with the
heavy presence of voters who share his Mormon faith, turned Nevada
into something of a way-station on the campaign calendar.
There are just over 175,000 Mormons in the state, roughly 7
percent of the population. But they accounted for nearly a quarter
of all 2008 Nevada GOP caucus-goers.
Gingrich said he'd be happy to finish second, behind Romney and
ahead of Paul. Paul, a Texas lawmaker, was one of two candidates to
air television ads in the state, hoping for a close second-place
finish if not an upset.
Romney was the other, joined by Restore Our Future, the
ubiquitous organization that supports him and has been heavily
involved in earlier states.
Santorum campaigned relatively little in Nevada, although he
picked up the support of Sharron Angle, a tea party favorite who
won the GOP Senate nomination in a 2010 upset and then lost her
race to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
From Nevada, the calendar turns to caucuses in Minnesota and
Colorado and a non-binding primary in Missouri on Tuesday.
Maine caucuses end next Saturday, and the next seriously
contested states are expected to be primaries in Michigan and
Arizona on Feb. 28.
Nevada caucuses, coming four days after the Florida primary,
meant little time for the type of intense campaign that
characterized the first month of the race.
The most memorable event of the four-day Nevada campaign was an
endorsement that flamboyant billionaire Donald Trump bestowed on
Romney in Las Vegas in a circus-like atmosphere that followed
reports he would back Gingrich. The campaign event was brief, and
Paul mocked The Donald and his decision. "I don't think he has
that much credibility. I don't understand why we pay attention to
him," he said.
By the time Nevada Republicans caucused, Paul was campaigning in
Minnesota, Santorum in Colorado.
"The one thing that is on our side is the American people are
waking up," Paul said in a speech in Rochester, Minn., that was
frequently interrupted by applause. The Texan has yet to win a
primary or caucus state.
Santorum, who eked out a victory in Iowa a month ago, has faded
since. He said he has raised $1 million online in recent days to
help him in the upcoming states.
Gingrich combined campaigning and fundraising in his time in
Nevada, in hopes of righting a campaign that was victorious in the
South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, only to crater 10 days later in
Florida.
Eager to demonstrate he intends to fight on, he announced plans
to campaign next week in Ohio, one of several states with a Super
Tuesday primary on March 6.
His Florida victory in hand, Romney was acting like a
front-runner again, campaigning against Obama more than Gingrich.
Restore Our Future took on the former speaker, airing ads that said
he consistently overstated his connections to Ronald Reagan
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