Mitt Romney consolidated his hold in the GOP race, winning the Nevada caucuses with a solid lead on Saturday.
The win follows a 14-point victory in Florida last week, setting the scene for upcoming caucuses in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri on Tuesday, and primaries in Michigan and Arizona at the end of the month.
Romney took the lead early in the counting in Nevada, gaining 48 percent of the vote with 71 percent of the precincts counted.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gained 23 percent and Rep. Ron Paul gained 18 percent, while former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who had largely skipped Nevada, gained 11 percent of the vote.
CNN entrance polls suggest Republicans are starting to coalesce around Romney, with the former Massachusetts governor for the first time leading in nearly every voting group.
In a noticeable shift among the Republican base, Romney was the most popular candidate for supporters of the Tea Party, slightly above his nearest rival Newt Gingrich, with more than half those identifying as “very conservative” supporting him, according to the polls.
Of the 43 percent of people who said beating Obama was the most important candidate quality, 70 percent chose Mitt Romney.
Speaking to supporters in Las Vegas, Romney dwelt little on his rivals, instead focusing as he had done in Florida on President Obama and the economy.
“America needs a president who can fix the economy because he understands the economy,” he said. “I do and I will. This president began his presidency by apologizing for America. He should now be apologizing to America.”
