Romney wins Nevada
February 5, 2012
US media outlets are projecting a solid win for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in the party caucuses in Nevada on Saturday. With about 12.5 percent of votes counted, the Nevada Republican Party says Romney has about 40.8 percent of the vote so far.
Newt Gingrich is a distant second with 26.2 percent, and Ron Paul trails him with 19.2 percent. Rick Santorum was brining up the rear in Nevada with 13.6 percent.
The expected win for Romney further cements his lead as the favorite Republican candidate who will go up against incumbent President Barack Obama in elections in November. It is his second victory in a row and the third out of the five states that have been contested so far.
On Tuesday, the Republican hopefuls face contests in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri.
As a former congressman from Georgia, Gingrich hopes to fare better when the primary voting heads to southern states in March, but Romney hopes to have eliminated Gingrich from the contest by then. A critical 'super Tuesday' vote takes place in ten states at once on March 6.
mz/ai (AFP, AP, Reuters)