US Elections

Nevada victory puts Romney one step closer to the nomination

By Luke Freedman in Sydney, Australia

6 February 2012

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Romney's victory in the Nevada caucus made official what anyone following the election knew to be inevitable. The Silver State may be a toss up state in the general election, but here in the primaries, it had all the telltale signs of Romney country. Nevada is fairly moderate politically, with a large Mormon population, and the highest unemployment rate in the country — three characteristics that favour Romney. And Romney spent months coordinating his campaign in Nevada, a marked contrast from Gingrich, who only set up a campaign office in the state two weeks ago 

In one respect, Romney's win doesn't change much. No one's predictions or long term forecasts for the primaries were drastically altered as a result. Further, the delegates awarded aren't terribly significant, given that they are allotted proportionally.

Still, in an important sense, the results in Nevada are meaningful. In a race where perception and momentum are so critical, voters all across the country are going to see headlines such as "Romney Wins Easily in Nevada." They're going to read about how he won nearly every significant demographic, how he's now the only candidate to win two states in a row, how this only solidifies his status as the frontrunner... well, you get the picture. These things matter in campaigns. It's hard for someone like Gingrich to present himself as a viable nominee when he's coming off a big defeat in which his campaign looked so out of whack. He can still point to his victory in South Carolina as a sign of what he's capable of, but, as that result recedes further into the past, it will be harder and harder for voters to see it as anything but an aberration.

 

Tags: Election 2012, Electionwatch, Mitt Romney, Nevada, Nevada Caucus, Newt Gingrich, Republican Primary 2012

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