January 19, 2008
Posted: 04:33 PM ET

LAS VEGAS (CNN) – Mitt Romney, who CNN projects has won the Republican caucuses in Nevada with 46 percent of the vote, scored well with voters who ranked the economy and illegal immigration as the issues that concern them most, according to early entrance polls.

The former Massachusetts governor also benefited from his Mormon religion, the poll results show. Romney captured 94 percent of the voters who identified themselves as Mormon, which made up 25 percent of all Republicans participating in the GOP caucuses. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints estimates there are 170,000 members living in Nevada.

While Romney appears on his way to an easy victory in Nevada, several Republican contenders are in a tight battle for second place.

CNN's projections are based on precincts reporting results, entrance polls and other statistical models — including the number of votes outstanding in areas where the candidates were expected to do well.

"Today, the people of Nevada voted for change in Washington," Romney said in a statement released by his campaign. "Whether it is reforming health care, making America energy independent or securing the border, the American people have been promised much and are now ready for change.

"The need for change is even more apparent today as our economy faces challenges both here at home and abroad," Romney said. "For decades, we have talked about the long-term economic challenges confronting our country but the tax burden is too high, business is stifled by regulations and more money goes to defending against junk lawsuits than promoting research and innovation."

Entrance poll results showed that the economy and illegal immigration ranked first and second on the minds of GOP voters with 38 percent and 34 percent, respectively.

Romney also won over veterans, late deciders and rural voters — although the entrance polls show a closer race in Washoe County, home of Reno, Nevada's second largest city, than in Las Vegas and Clark County, the state's largest metropolitan area.

–CNN's Mark Preston and Keating Holland

Filed under: Nevada


Jane   January 19th, 2008 4:41 pm ET

AND RON PAUL IS RUNNING SECOND…YOU NEED TO AT LEAST MENTION HIS NAME…..

Nevada for Romney   January 19th, 2008 4:44 pm ET

Mitt's solid credentials in business, family and political leadership won for him today! Congrats Mitt and best of luck in SoCarolina and Florida. I do hope people vote on the issues and your ability to improve how our government functions! We want a leader who will do the right thing for the right reasons!

Mike VE   January 19th, 2008 4:44 pm ET

I am voting for MITT ROMNEY!!!!!

Mitt has not been in Washington for years like John McLaim, Clinton and Obama.

Mitt has held executive positions as a Govenor and in private business, Obama, Clinton and John McLaim have only worked in Washington they do not have a clue about private business or the American economy.

Mitt is a conservative that’s why the media hates him; John McLaim is a liberal just look who he associates with Kennedy, Feingold, the gang of 14, ect. and that’s why the media loves John McLaim.

Mitt is against amnesty for illegal aliens; Obama, Clinton and John McLaim are for amnesty for illegal aliens.

Mitt is for tax cuts, Obama, Clinton and John McLaim are against tax cuts and want to raise our taxes.

Mitt is for conservative judges, Obama, Clinton and John McLaim are for liberal judges.

Mitt wants to free Americans and American business from the federal government Obama, Clinton and John McLaim want big government and are responsible for big government we have.

Mitt will fight to protect this country and build a strong military; Obama, Clinton and John McLaim stood by when al-Qaeda attacked our interests in the 1990 and the 1980s.

Mitt Romney is the right change for America

Vote for Mitt!!!

TJ   January 19th, 2008 4:45 pm ET

How many polls said 50% for Mitt? The dems and media know that Mitt would crush any liberal socialist on the dem side in a one on one debate. Thus the dems and media are still talking up the Huckster and other losers.

Romney is winning the Republican base. If anyone undecided will to listen with an open mind to Mitt speak, it will only take a few minutes to see that he is brilliant.

McCain is just another Sr Senator war veteran who has no winning ideas like Bob Dole was a sr senator war vet in 1996. Obama/Oprah or the Clintons would have a very big victory against McCain just like Slick did against Dole back in 96.

Now that the news is out that Rudy is low on money, Mitt is the only candidate that can go the distance and win in November. If the people of Florida do not wake up and give Mitt a win that would make the dems and the media very happy indeed. A vote for McCain or the Huckster is a vote for the Democrats and economic & international failure.

Justin Gilardi   January 19th, 2008 4:59 pm ET

I've been watching the Nevada coverage for hours now, Romney and Clinton have clearly won. The only story worth talking about is Ron Paul's likely second place finish in a close race with McCain. This is a big story, but instead of covering it the MSM continues to stonewall Ron Paul and rehash the same Romney/Clinton material again and again.

No wonder this country is so frustrated with the MSM and politics in general. Shame on every major news channel covering Nevada for not giving Ron Paul and his supporters fair coverage. Its a sad time for America.

dan   January 19th, 2008 4:59 pm ET

its great that mitt did well with republicans over 55 . but what about the new rebublicans 45 and younger,the seem to be voting for ron paul. yet you don't even give it a slight mention. afraid of your boss? if fred was tied with mccain that would be your big story for the rest of the weekend.how fred had this big comeback. i think the media is a lot like king george. by the time he paid attion to the people in the colonies it was to late the REVOLUTION had begun.

Jeremiah Grant, Phoenix, AZ   January 19th, 2008 5:03 pm ET

Enough with the Mormon thing! Only 25% of the GOP caucus goers were LDS, a far cry from the 60% Evangelical vote in Iowa and the projected 55% in SC. Honestly! Are we going to discount every state in which there's an LDS population in excess of 3%? The LDS people make up a whopping 7% of the population in NV and 12-14% in WY and yet somehow they're the reason why Romney wins. Give me a break. Romney is currently spanking McCain handily by a margin of 4 to 1. 4 to 1 people!!! How can that be attributable to the LDS voters if there were four times as many non-LDS voters? The math doesn't work. Sorry.

The other laughable element to this woodshed beating of McAmnesty is that everyone wanted to suggest that Romney should have dominated NH because he was the Governor of a neighboring state. Let's see. Romney was in MA for 4 years and was supposed to have a big advantage because of that. McAmnesty has been the Senator of a neighboring state to NV for 24 years (6x as long) and he just got taken to the cleaners. What gives? What's John's next excuse?

FJ Stratford   January 19th, 2008 5:08 pm ET

Ron Paul is second? This is intriguing. Maybe he would get enough delegates to affect the final selection in the Minneapolis Republican convention.

That would be big news, indeed. A republican convention in topsy turvy.

Jeremiah Grant, Phoenix, AZ   January 19th, 2008 5:13 pm ET

Hats off to Ron Paul for also embarassing McAmnesty. I don't personally subscribe to some of his ideas, but you can't help but respect his campaign and the deep support of his supporters. He believes in his message.

Congratulations Ron Paul.

not a paulite   January 19th, 2008 5:25 pm ET

why does CNN have Hukabee as SECOND on its news banner??????????

Andrew   January 19th, 2008 5:34 pm ET

America needs change and the only candidate who will bring change is JOHN McCAIN!! I can't believe how so many people get brain washed by Romney. America needs a determined, honest ( not a candidate who switches his stand on issues just to attract supporters), experienced, and one who will commit himself to get our country in the right path. We need a candidate who once in office will still remember of those who got him there, not one who will close his eyes and block his ears to the necessities of the American people.
JOHN McCain FOR 2008 !!!!!!

Kal-el   January 19th, 2008 5:50 pm ET

For any Republicans still undecided about who is the best candidate inNovmeber, please go to http://www.mittromney.com and click on the Issues button. Never have I seen so many excellent ideas gathered in one place by one candidate at one time.

The reason so many of us are passionate about Romney is that we admire excellence. The governor has achieved at the highest levels at everything he sets his mind to: academics, business, government–even his family life.

He's succeeded profesionally by gathering data, analyzing it with the best mids he can find and then making the absolute best decisions he can. He will bring a business-like approach and efficiency to Washington and begin crafting real solutions to the serious problems facing America. In particular, his economic plan and his program to increase America's competitiveness in the global market are exactly what we need at this moment in time.

McCain, Huckabee and Fred Thompson are all fine men, no doubt about it. But none of them has the total package of attributes that define Mitt Romney as the best person from either party running for president. Giuliani also is an exceptional candidate but does not have the business experience Romney has. The mayor also has misplayed this campaign. He put all his eggs in the Florida basket, a risky gamble that appears to be backfiring.

Mitt's the man! Undecideds–do a little research. You'll like what you see.

Steven Johnson   January 19th, 2008 5:52 pm ET

One of my main concerns among all the issues is the economy!! Our economy has gone downhill a long with our reputation and foreign affairs. Most candidates running for office promise that they are the change and that they are the remedy for our country's problems. But the only candidate that by far will achieve positive results to our nation's problems is John McCain. John McCain is a politician with experience and the only one who makes logical sense when speaking about solutions for such problems. AMERICA NEEDS CHANGE !! AMERICA NEEDS JOHN McCAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jonathan, UT   January 19th, 2008 5:53 pm ET

I'm sure it wouldn't sell the story to label anyone as the GOP frontrunner.

Carly   January 19th, 2008 5:56 pm ET

Please stop treating Ron Paul like chopped liver. Who is telling you people to ignore him? You are getting as bad as Faux News. He is tied for second..while far behind Romney you could at least be fair about giving him some press. Please start being journalists first and shills second or you will lose this viewer.

Fazle   January 19th, 2008 6:03 pm ET

Can CNN explain why Ron Paul who came out 2nd in Nevada is receiving less media coverage than Guliani and Thompson who came out 5th and 6th in Nevada? Your slogan is “We report & you decide” and “keeping them honest” yet your station is picking and choosing on whom you want to report. Guliani and Thompson are getting more media coverage than Mr. Ron Paul, Shame on you guys!!!!!!!!!!!

voter   January 19th, 2008 6:45 pm ET

There is so much fraud going on and the media says nothing. We no longer live in a Democracy people lets WAKE UP! The military industrial complex and there menions/media is controlling everything! We need a REVOLUTION!

Courtney Beadel   January 19th, 2008 7:32 pm ET

Is Mitt Romney delaying the inevitable recession with his proposed policy on the housing crisis? How is the government supposed to pay for his proposed aid? More importantly, HOW is he being fiscally conservative by wanting to bail these people out? Yes, he says to cut "pork-barrel" spending, but we all know that there is a certain amount of money allotted and congress uses it for earmarks or whatnot — but if they didn't then that money would remain unused and cycle back into the federal bureaucracy. Plus, it seems like it's just a white-wash answer to how he will address the economy. Not all pork is a bad thing — why not propose to save money by stopping the increase of the federal deficit, by trying to limit our foreign policy? How does he propose that we get out of the debt we created by borrowing from China to give money to Israel and other middle-eastern countries?

The media coverage of this election is ridiculous. You don't ask the hard questions especially if a candidate doesn't seem to fully coalesce with his party's platform. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

We need a Revolution.

Mario   January 19th, 2008 7:49 pm ET

Go Mitt!

Justin, Lexington MA   January 19th, 2008 7:50 pm ET

To all the networks who will attempt to cheapen Romney's win in NV by saying he won 9 out of 10 votes from Mormons: DO THE MATH!!! Take all those votes away, Romney still wins 2 to 1. He didn't win because he's Mormon or because an astounding percentage of Mormons voted for him. He didn't even need the 'Mormon vote' for a NV victory.

Rebecca   January 19th, 2008 8:06 pm ET

Way to go, Mitt! The left-leaning, Billary-loving media would hate to see you win the GOP nomination because you'd have the Dems for breakfast in a head-to-head contest. I love it how the mass media keeps Huckabee and McCain in the spotlight in S.C., in spite of the fact that you're thrashing them in the delegate count, the ONLY figure that matters at the end of the day.

Keep it up, Mitt! See ya' in the White House.

robert   January 19th, 2008 10:22 pm ET

Yeah No one is mentioning that DR RON PAUL came in 2nd!

Fair and Balanced……… Isn't it?

ike   January 20th, 2008 1:55 am ET

The reason Ron Paul wasn't mentioned, or any other candidate, is because they weren't even close. Why would you mention, Oh, by the way Ron Paul took second with 13% of the vote? THIRTEEN PERCENT! So what? Compared to FIFTY-ONE, second isn't any better than 3rd, 4th, or 5th.

Jerad   January 21st, 2008 12:03 am ET

Jeremiah Grant, Phoenix, AZ-

Thank you!!! Someone finally used a calculator and figured something out.

Romney's religion isn't going to get him to the White House, his record and abilities are. I hope everyone continues to ignore the fact that Mitt is walking away with the nomination. Clinton and Obama need to start gearing up for a long, hard, and futile battle with Romney. President Mitt Romney. Sounds good to me.

ann   February 6th, 2008 8:38 am ET

Isn't it amazing that Ron Paul got so many votes when the media all but tries to make this man invisible to the public. This is not balanced reporting. It is very dangerous when the Media becomes controlled by Power and Money. True newsmen would never allow this to happen in America. Ron Paul has a message of Peace and Prosperity for America. He truly loves his country and has some wonderful ideas to help us remain strong and true to our Constitution. The media is drowning us with information on Clinton, Obama & McCain, but not a word about Ron Paul. I ask you, are you being fair and balanced to this candidate???

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