Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney cruised to victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night, notching a second straight triumph over a field of rivals suddenly struggling to keep pace. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters at his Nevada caucus night victory celebration in Las Vegas, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters at his Nevada caucus night victory celebration in Las Vegas, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, greets supporters after speaking at a campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a campaign stop at the International Church of Las Vegas on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/Evan... (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop at Bethel University Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, in Arden Hills, Minn. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (Associated Press) 
 
 The caucuses drew little attention in the nominating campaign, but Nevada figures to be a fierce battleground in November between the winner of the Republican nomination and Democrat President Barack Obama. The state's unemployment rate was measured at 12.6 percent in December, the worst in the U.S. 
 
 Romney unleashed a sharp attack on Obama, whose economic policies he said have "made these tough times last longer." 
 
 "President Obama seems to believe America's role as leader in the world is a thing of the past. I believe the 21st century will be and must be an American century," Romney said to cheers from his backers. 
 
 Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, held a double-digit lead over his nearest pursuer as the totals mounted in a state where fellow Mormons accounted for roughly a quarter of all caucus-goers. 
 
 Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul vied for a distant second. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum trailed the field. Returns from 14 of 17 counties showed Romney with 42 percent support, Gingrich with 25 percent, Paul with 20 percent and Santorum with 13 percent. 
 
 Yet to report its results was Clark County, which includes Las Vegas and often accounts for half or more of the votes in a statewide election. 
 
 Romney's victory capped a week that began with his double-digit win in the Florida primary. That contest was as intense as Nevada's caucuses were sedate _ so quiet that they produced little television advertising, no candidate debates and only a modest investment of time by the contenders. 
 
 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. 
 
 Preliminary results of a poll of Nevada Republicans entering their caucuses showed that nearly half said the most important consideration in their decision was a candidate's ability to defeat Obama this fall, a finding in line with other states. 
 
 About one-quarter of those surveyed said they are Mormon, roughly the same as in 2008, when Romney won with more than a majority of the vote in a multi-candidate field. 
 
 The entrance poll was conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press at 25 randomly selected caucus sites. It included 1,553 interviews and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. 
 
 A total of 28 delegates were at stake in the state-by-state race to lock up the 1,144 needed to secure the Republican nomination. 
 
 Nevada awarded its delegates in proportion to the caucus vote totals, meaning that any candidate who captured at least 3.57 percent 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. 
 
 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, and the next seriously contested states are expected to be primaries in Michigan and Arizona on Feb. 28. 
 
 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. 
 
 By the time Nevada Republicans caucused, Paul was campaigning in Minnesota, Santorum in Colorado. 
 
 Eager to demonstrate he intends to fight on, Gingrich announced plans to campaign next week in Ohio, one of several states with a primary on March 6. 
 
 His Florida victory in hand, Romney was acting like a front-runner again, campaigning against Obama more than Gingrich. Restore Our Future took on the former speaker, airing ads that said he consistently overstated his connections to Ronald Reagan. ||||| “If you’re a swing voter, who are you going to believe?” Santorum said to a crowd packed into a hotel ballroom here on Colorado’s Western Slope. “America is not looking for well-oiled weather vanes. They are looking for leaders.” 
 
 In Chanhassen, Minn., Paul said the state’s caucus system “rewards people who believe in something.” 
 
 “We have reason to be optimistic about not only our future, but maybe we have optimism about Tuesday’s election too,” Paul said with a grin as he looked out at a couple hundred people wedged into a car collector club lounge. 
 
 Paul didn’t mention President Barack Obama or any of his GOP competitors by name, diving instead into a lecture about a need to protect personal liberties, revive the gold standard, abolish the Federal Reserve and shift to a less-interventionist foreign policy. 
 
 “Our problems are a lot longer than 3 years old. They’ve been going on for a long time,” Paul said, aiming his barbs at President Woodrow Wilson instead of Obama during an appearance in Rochester, Minn. 
 
 Paul is building off a decent base of support in Minnesota, where he drew nearly 16 percent of the 2008 vote. Organizers were holding “practice caucuses” during his weekend events in Minnesota. He’s banking on help from anti-war Republicans and tea party members. 
 
 Santorum, meanwhile, was heading to Minnesota late Saturday after the Nevada caucus results were announced. He planned a full day on Sunday, including a church visit and a stop at the factory that produces the sweater vests his campaign sells for $100 each to raise money. 
 
 What he lacks in organization, he is hoping to supplement with sharper criticism. 
 
 Santorum’s strategy has been to bloody Gingrich, outlast his one-time ally and then emerge as the eventual alternative to front-runner Romney. He also looked to have a strong showing Tuesday in Missouri, which is having a non-binding primary that lacks Gingrich’s name on the ballot. Santorum said he hoped the head-to-head matchup with Romney would change the narrative of his sagging fortunes. 
 
 Opening his day, Santorum told Republicans here that Washington has gone too far in its environmental policies, especially here in the West. He said overreaching environmental regulators were trampling on ranchers with a Washington-knows-best approach. 
 
 “’We’ll make sure that you don’t do something to scar the land or endanger a newt,’” Santorum said. “No, not that Newt. I want to endanger that Newt. That’s a different story.” 
 
 It wasn’t going to happen in Nevada, though. 
 
 Romney, as expected, captured the Nevada winner’s medal, and Santorum urged Republicans in conservative Weld County, Colo., at a Lincoln Day dinner to give his campaign one last shot. 
 
 “I ask you to reset this race. Create an opportunity for someone who can speak to Americans about what America is all about,” Santorum pleaded at the same hour it became clear Romney was the victor in Nevada. 
 
 And he showed no signs of relenting on Romney or Gingrich, even as he appeared at a county GOP fundraiser as results became clear. 
 
 “Here are two candidates that are not just compromised but will be slammed even bringing up those issues. Why would you do this? ... Why would the Republican Party nominate candidates with those positions?” 
 
 Paul, meanwhile, kept close tabs on Nevada, where he placed second in 2008 behind Romney. The Texas congressman had hoped for an outright win this time. Advisers had hoped the state’s independent, live-and-let-live ethos is receptive to Paul’s libertarian message and that his band of diehard supporters can be counted on to show up at the caucuses. 
 
 Paul’s campaign has spent $350,000 on television ads in Nevada, just behind Romney who spent $371,000, according to the Smart Media Group which tracks political advertising. Newt Gingrich did not advertise on television in Nevada and Santorum placed only a $12,000 cable buy. 
 
 “We just don’t have those resources,” Santorum conceded. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Bakst reported from Minnesota. Associated Press writer Beth Fouhy in Nevada contributed to this report. 
 
 Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
– The polls this week were right: Mitt Romney easily won the Nevada caucuses tonight, just as he did four years ago, report the AP and CNN. That's two straight victories for the frontrunner. The more interesting battle was that for second place: Romney took 42%, but Ron Paul at times looked poised to trounce Newt Gingrich. Gingrich prevailed in the final tally with 25%, Paul with 18%, and Rick Santorum had 13%. As he did after his South Carolina win, Romney addressed supporters and put the focus on the White House rather than his rivals."President Obama seems to believe America's role as leader in the world is a thing of the past," he said. "I believe the 21st century will be and must be an American century." Next up after tonight: Tuesday night caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado, and a primary in Missouri. (No delegates will be awarded in the Missouri contest, and Gingrich isn't even on the ballot, notes the Washington Post.)