Poll managers, from left to right, Alberta Fernandez, Alma Brown, Harold Nesbitt, Annabell Gathers and Kathy Bronson, all of Mt. Pleasant, wait for more voters during the South Carolina Republican presidential primary at the Jones Recreational Center in Mount Pleasant, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Alice Keeney)
Romney Wins Nevada Caucuses
Mitt Romney won quiet Republican presidential caucuses in Nevada on Saturday while John McCain and Mike Huckabee dueled in a hard-fought South Carolina primary, a campaign doubleheader likely to winnow the crowded field of White House rivals.
Democrats shared the stage in Nevada, where Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama vied for a caucus victory and the campaign momentum that goes with it.
Romney's western victory marked his second straight success, coming quickly after a first-place finish in the Michigan primary revived a faltering campaign.
Caucus-goers in Nevada said the economy and illegal immigration were their top concerns, according to preliminary results from surveys of voters entering their caucuses. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, was leader among voters who cited both issues.
Mormons comprised about 20 percent of all caucus-goers, another advantage for Romney, who is trying to become the first member of the faith to win the White House.
Alone among the Republican contenders, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas aired television ads in Nevada, and the libertarian-leaning Texan was running a distant second behind Romney.
Nevada offered more delegates but far less appeal to the Republican candidates than South Carolina, a primary that has gone to the party's eventual nominee every four years since 1980.
That made it a magnet for former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who staked his candidacy on a strong showing, as well as for Romney, McCain, the Arizona senator; and Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas.
McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, appealed to a large population of military veterans in South Carolina, and stressed his determination to rein in federal spending as he worked to avenge a bitter defeat in the 2000 primary.
Huckabee reached out to evangelical Christian voters, hoping to rebound from a string of disappointing showings since his victory in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.
Romney campaigned on a pledge to help restore the state's economy, much as he did in winning Michigan.
In South Carolina, the economy and immigration were cited as top issues, and preliminary survey data indicated a strong turnout by evangelical voters.
Survey data in both states were from polls conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appeared be the winner Saturday in the Nevada Republican Caucuses in the bid to be the next President of the United States.

With 2% of the votes counted, Romney was leading his nearest competitors by more than a 3 to 1 margin, or having 45% of the votes. Romney, a Republican who polls between second and third nationally, appears to have been helped by concerns over the health of the U.S. economy, as well as worries over immigration. This is Romney's third win after winning his home state of Michigan's Republican primary on Tuesday and the Wyoming primary which was overshadowed by other contests

According to entry polls conducted by CNN on Nevada voters, immigration and the economy topped the list of concerns - far exceeding concerns about Iraq and the War on Terror, issues generally thought to be weak spots for the Romney campaign. 38% of those polled believed the economy comes first.

U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), a long-shot candidate who once ran on the Libertarian ticket, and U.S. Senator John McCain were in a fight for second. Paul has 14% with McCain currently trailing at 13%. Democrats also cast votes Saturday, with results expected later in the afternoon.

The Nevada caucuses were largely overshadowed by the Republican South Carolina primary, which is being held on the same day. This was part of a strange campaign irony, as Nevada will send more delegates to the Republican National Convention in September. South Carolina was stripped of half its delegates after violating party rules by holding a primary contest before Super Tuesday.

New York state Senator Hillary Clinton has won the Nevada Democratic Caucus with 52% of the votes needed to win beating her opponent Barack Obama by 8% who had 44% of the votes. Hillary's win was boosted by minority Latino and women voters. There was some controversy over the fact that some at-large Democratic caucuses would be held in casinos, giving casino workers a chance to vote, the Nevada State Education Association and six individuals filed a lawsuit claiming this was unfair and would give more delegates then other locations and that this violates state law. Due to the fact that some of the Nevada State Education Association's leaders have endorsed Clinton and that the fact the lawsuit was filed two days after the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 endorsed Obama, lead some political commentators to state it was a proxy battle between Obama and Clinton.

Image:Mitt Romney, 2006.jpg|Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA)
Image:Hillary Clinton 2007-3 cropped.jpg|Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)