Source: RGJ.com
NEVADA - 3:30 p.m. update: The GOP presidential caucus attracted about 6,700 voters on Saturday, down from the estimated 11,000 to 14,000 that showed up for the presidential caucus in 2008. (Washoe County Republican Party officials say there's no official voter-count from four years ago).
Meanwhile, party officials and voters largely reported a smoother - and faster - experience on Saturday compared to the disorganization that plagued the GOP caucus in 2008.
Most precinct meetings located inside one of 15 polling locations lasted between a half-hour to an hour after voters showed up at 10 a.m. to cast their vote on one of the blue ballots given to them at the registration table.
Some voters did show up late and were not able to vote, said Dave Buell, the chairman of the Washoe County Republican Party, though those cases were limited to "handfuls" of people.
"We were on the radio on TV stations in the press, and apparently some people just didn't hear the message," Buell said. "Thought they we're in a primary and could vote at any time."
1:50 p.m. update: Unlike the chaos that plagued the 2008 GOP presidential caucus, Nevada Republican voters in Washoe County cast their ballots for the four remaining presidential contenders with no reported hitches on Saturday.
Most of the voting ended by noon after caucus goers chose one of four GOP presidential nominees on blue ballots that were given to them when they registered at one of 15 polling locations in Washoe County, up from four in 2008.
By early afternoon, preliminary reports suggested Gov. Mitt Romney was maintaining a strong lead, as predicted by his commanding 2008 performance in the Silver State and a recent Public Policy Polling poll, which predicted the former Massachusetts governor getting 50 percent of the vote.
For example, Las Vegas Sun pundit Jon Ralston reported on Twitter that Romney had 348 supporters at Galena High School, compared to U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich's 158, Rep. Ron Paul's 88 and Sen. Rick Santorum's 82.
Gov. Brian Sandoval cast his ballot at Swope Elementary School in Northwest Reno, though did not say who he was going to support for the nomination.
"I'm going to support the next president of the United States," said Sandoval, who endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry late last year. Perry later ended his campaign following a few stumbles during debates and lackluster support on the trail.
Before Sandoval left his precinct, which ultimately gave Romney 56 percent of its support, the governor told the 45 other Republicans in the classroom to support whoever ultimately gets the GOP nomination.
1:00 p.m. update: LAS VEGAS - Republican presidential front runner Mitt Romney reached for his second straight victory Saturday in quiet Nevada caucuses, a contest that Newt Gingrich and the rest of his rivals conceded in advance.
Unlike contentious earlier events from Iowa to Florida, this one featured little television advertising, no debates and a small investment of time by Romney, Gingrich, former Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
A total of 28 Republican National Convention delegates was at stake in caucuses held across a sprawling state that drew little attention in the nominating campaign, but figures to be a fierce battleground in the fall between the winner of the GOP nomination and President Barack Obama. The state's unemployment rate was measured at 12.6 percent in December, the worst in the country.
According to the AP count, Romney began the day with 87 of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. Gingrich had 26, Santorum 14 and Paul 4.
The caucus rules were a demonstration of democracy and a reflection of religious diversity.
Nevada awarded its delegates in proportion to the caucus vote totals, meaning that any candidate who captured at least 3.57 of the total number of ballots cast would be rewarded. By contrast, Romney's victory in the Florida primary on Tuesday netted him all 50 of the delegates at stake there.
While most caucuses were held during the day, an exception was made in Clark County, the state's largest. There, party officials arranged to hold one meeting well after sundown at the request of orthodox Jews who observe bans on driving, writing or other work-a-day activities during the Sabbath.
Romney's victory in the state's 2008 caucuses, coupled with the heavy presence of voters who share his Mormon faith, turned Nevada into something of a way-station on the campaign calendar.
There are just over 175,000 Mormons in the state, roughly 7 percent of the population. But they accounted for nearly a quarter of all 2008 Nevada GOP primary-goers.
Gingrich said he'd be happy to finish second, behind Romney and ahead of Paul, who was one of two candidates to air television ads in the state.
Romney was the other, joined by Restore Our Future, the ubiquitous organization that supports him and has been heavily involved in earlier states.
Santorum campaigned relatively little in Nevada, although he picked up the support of Sharron Angle, a tea party favorite who won the GOP Senate nomination in a 2010 upset and then lost her race to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
From Nevada, the calendar turns to caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and a non-binding primary in Missouri on Tuesday.
Maine caucuses end next Saturday.
Nevada caucuses, coming four days after the Florida primary, meant little time for the type of intense campaign that characterized the first month of the race.
The most memorable event of the four-day Nevada campaign was an endorsement that flamboyant billionaire Donald Trump bestowed on Romney in Las Vegas in a circus-like atmosphere that followed reports he would back Gingrich. The campaign event was brief, and Paul mocked The Donald and his decision. "I don't think he has that much credibility. I don't understand why we pay attention to him," he said.
RGJ.COM