Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Saturday claimed his second straight victory of the GOP presidential nominating contest, winning the Nevada caucuses in commanding fashion.
Romney was expected to claim the victory in Nevada in the days leading up to the contest as he heavily outspent his opponents in both ads and organization.
Those investments evidently paid off, with Romney claiming well above 40 percent of the vote according to early returns - a close to 20-point victory over the nearest of his potential rivals.
Texas Representative Ron Paul also spent on ads in advance of the Nevada caucuses and likely benefited from the loyalty of his supporters, who could be relied on to invest the time in a caucus rather than simply showing up for a few moments at the polling booth.
Paul looks to claim between 20 to 25 percent of the vote, putting him, according to early results, in a dead heat with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who also performed well, despite having invested little in Nevada.
Even so, the results in Nevada will likely have some Republicans questioning whether Gingrich truly is the best candidate to unseat Romney as the likely nominee.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum scored a fairly distant fourth place, seemingly unlikely from early returns to post results even close to the 20 percent levels of Paul and Gingrich.
In part because of special caucuses set up for those who observe the Sabbath on Saturday - including Orthodox Jews and Seventh Day Adventists - with caucus locations not opening until after sundown, final results will not likely be certified until late in the evening.
The Nevada caucuses will be rapidly followed on Tuesday by Caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota as well as a primary vote in Missouri. The contest will then move almost equally rapidly to the Maine caucuses on Feb 11.
After this series of rapid-fire contests, the next votes will have to wait until the end of the month, with Feb. 28 votes in Arizona and Michigan, followed by the "Super Tuesday" contests on March 6.
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