Nevada caucus results: AP projects Mitt Romney victory
No surprise: Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is the overwhelming victor in Nevada’s caucuses with 47.6 percent of the vote, supported by a politically-active Mormon base but dominating across demographic groups.
About a quarter of the electorate was Mormon — the same as in 2008, when Romney won with 51 percent of the vote. But Romney also beat Gingrich with evangelical voters, according to entrance polls.
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich was a distant second with 22.7 percent of the vote.Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) outperformed polls, but still finished a disappointing third at 18.6 percent despite focusing intently on the state. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum came in fourth with 11.1 percent of the vote.
While most caucuses were finished Saturday afternoon, start times are staggered. One caucus in Clark County didn’t start until 7 p.m. local time, for Orthodox Jews observing the Sabbath.
Perhaps in acknowledgement of Romney’s dominance in the state, Gingrich held a press conference rather than a traditional party. “I’m not going to withdraw,” he declared in the bizarre event. “I’m actually pretty happy with where we are.”
According to the New York Times, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, a major Gingrich supporter, has sent assurances to Romney that he will be even more generous to him if he’s the nominee.
As in Florida, Romney won the voters who considered electability, strong moral character or the right experience the most important candidate qualities. He fared poorly with those who wanted a “true conservative.”
Pauloutperformed with self-described independents (caucus-goers must be registered Republicans.)
- Spam
- Obscene
- Duplicate
Blog Contributors
Chris Cillizza
Chris Cillizza is founder and editor of The Fix, a leading blog on state and national politics. He is the author of The Gospel According to the Fix: An Insider’s Guide to a Less than Holy World of Politics and an MSNBC contributor and political analyst. He also regularly appears on NBC and NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show. He joined The Post in 2005 and was named one of the top 50 journalists by Washingtonian in 2009.
Juliet Eilperin
Juliet Eilperin covers the White House for the Washington Post. She served as the Post's House of Representatives reporter from 1998-2004, covering the impeachment of Bill Clinton, lobbying, legislation, and five national congressional campaigns. Since 2004 she has been one of the country’s leading reporters covering the environment, reporting on science, policy and politics in areas including climate change, oceans, and air quality. She is the author of two books, "Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives," and "Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks." Follow her on Twitter.
Ed O’Keefe
Ed O’Keefe covers Congress and politics for the Washington Post. He previously covered the 2008 and 2012 campaigns and reported on federal agencies and federal employees as author of The Federal Eye blog. Follow Ed on Twitter.
Aaron Blake
Aaron Blake covers national politics at the Washington Post, where he writes regularly for “The Fix,” the Post’s top political blog. A Minnesota native and summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota, Aaron has also written about politics for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and The Hill newspaper. Aaron and his wife, Danielle, live in Annandale, Va. Follow him on Twitter.
Sean Sullivan
Sean Sullivan covers national politics for “The Fix.” Prior to joining the Washington Post in the summer of 2012, Sean was the editor of Hotline On Call, National Journal Hotline’s politics blog. He has also worked for NHK Japan Public Broadcasting and ABC News. Sean is a graduate of Hamilton College, where he received a degree in Philosophy. He lives in Washington, D.C. Follow Sean on Twitter.
Scott Clement
Scott Clement is a survey research analyst for Capital Insight, the independent polling group of Washington Post Media. Scott specializes in public opinion about politics, election campaigns and public policy. He helps design and analyze all Washington Post polls, including the Washington Post-ABC News poll. Follow Scott on Twitter.
Rachel Weiner
Rachel Weiner covers national politics for Post Politics and The Fix. She came to the Washington Post in 2010 as a political web editor and anchored the Post's 2012 election blog. She was previously a web editor at The Huffington Post. Follow her on Twitter.
Latest Tweets
Got it! 3 more...ND, TN and WY. RT @nathanlgonzales: @TheFix Go with @ArgusMontgomery for SD #fixreporters
Thanks a lot. RT @mkady: Newsroom quiet. Email slow. Wires silent. Just jinxed holiday Friday, right?
Anthony Weiner’s rocky restart: http://t.co/TCzxloeDoK
Loading...
Comments