January 19, 2008
Posted: 03:42 PM ET
Ron Paul is in a close battle for second place in Nevada.
(CNN) — Ron Paul is currently battling for second with his Republican rivals in the party's Nevada caucuses in early returns, at 12 percent of the vote with about two-fifths of the ballots counted. Mitt Romney is projected to win the Republican caucuses there, thanks in part to unusually high turnout among the state’s sizeable Mormon minority. He currently has 55 percent of the vote. Most of the GOP candidates, with the exception of Romney and Paul, did not campaign in Nevada, focusing instead on South Carolina’s first-in-the-South vote, also on Saturday. Paul, who has amassed an enormous campaign war chest and a vocal group of passionate supporters, has beaten Rudy Giuliani in Michigan and Fred Thompson in New Hampshire — and has so far, according to a count released by his campaign, drawn 30,000 more primary votes in total than either man. The Paul campaign had warned Friday of potential “chaos” in the Nevada caucus process – including rule changes, location shifts, and potential ballot shortages – and had called on the state party to consider postponing the event. In a statement, they warned of potential voter disenfranchisement, and vote fraud. “The inconsistencies, errors and multiple changes in the rules reek of playing politics with what should be a neutral process,” said campaign manager Lew Moore. “The people of Nevada deserve to know exactly what the rules are and to know that those rules are being fairly enforced. This has not happened up to this point, and the caucus appears to be in chaos.” View results as they come in here –CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand Filed under: Nevada Ron Paul
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