LAS VEGAS, NV — Mitt Romney clocked up his second victory in a row Saturday night as he easily took the gold in Nevada’s caucuses, leaving his rivals choking on his dust.
Romney’s win is a nice boost for him as he heads into the next round of contests in Colorado and Minnesota, which vote on Tuesday. Missouri will also vote, but its results don’t count towards the delegate race and Gingrich is not on the ballot.
The former Massachusetts governor was expected to win big here given the large Mormon population in the state which also drove a victory in 2008. A strong presence at Romney’s rallies, LDS members turned out at a high rate on Saturday, making up 26% of the electorate according to entrance polls, a bigger share than evangelicals, who accounted for 23% of the vote. But Mormons were hardly the only demographic where he performed well — Romney also won 48% of the white evangelical vote to 27% for Gingrich, according to NBC’s exit polls.
Romney did not leave the state without taking some damage along the way, however. His comment that he is “not concerned with the very poor” because they have an adequate safety net sparked an uproar from Democrats and Republicans alike and will almost certainly follow him into a general election should he win the nomination. In addition, he had to suffer through an awkward endorsement from Donald Trump, whose penchant for outrageous statements and insatiable appetite for publicity could prove a dangerous combination as the race continues.
Even as Gingrich’s supporters downplayed his chances in the state, the ex-Speaker didn’t give up on eating into Romney’s lead. He held events around the state and unleashed perhaps his most vicious barrage against Romney yet at a rally on Friday in which he suggested he was a left-wing ally who didn’t respect the values of the Founding Fathers. He even kept up the offensive from a church pulpit in Las Vegas.
“I do not believe the Republican party wants to nominate a George Soros-approved candidate,” Gingrich said at his rally, adding that voters “want a candidate who represents Americans who work, pay taxes and believe in the Declaration of Independence, not somebody who is clearly against the American ideal.”
Rather than a traditional post-caucus speech, Gingrich has a press conference Saturday night at the Venetian in Las Vegas, a hotel and casino owned by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who has almost singlehandedly kept the campaign afloat with his multi-million dollar Super PAC donations. While the non-traditional format sparked rumors he might drop out, his campaign quickly released a busy campaign schedule for the next several days with appearances in Colorado, Minnesota, and Ohio, suggesting that things are proceeding full steam ahead. As late as Friday, Gingrich said he planned to take his campaign all the way to the Republican convention in Tampa, FL.
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
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