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Posted: 1:42 PM- WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney rolled a win in Nevada's first-in-the-West contest Saturday morning, taking a majority of the state's 34 delegates, as other Republican contenders focused their efforts more on South Carolina's primary.
Sen. John McCain is favored to win the first southern primary contest, a bellweather test of conservative support, though rival Mike Huckabee could also make a strong showing. Polls will be open until 6 p.m. MDT in South Carolina.
In Nevada, caucus goers handed Romney his third victory in the White House race, thanks partially to a sizable Mormon population in the state and the fact that Romney focused his effort there while other contenders were on the ground in South Carolina.
Romney was scheduled to speak to reporters when he landed in Florida later today. That state holds a primary contest on Jan. 29.
CNN's entrance polls showed that a quarter of caucus-goers were Mormon and that group voted 94 percent for Romney. The former Massachusetts governor also took more support from evangelical Christians than Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister.
Romney's campaign attempted to downplay the Mormon support, sending out a Nevada fact sheet that noted 12 percent of the state residents describe themselves as Protestant evangelicals while only 7.6 percent of the state is Mormon.
In South Carolina, McCain and Huckabee were looking for a second win to cement front-runner status.
McCain took New Hampshire in a come-from-behind victory, while Huckabee won Iowa's caucuses, potentially setting up a down to the wire race in the GOP field. A majority of Americans will vote on Feb. 5, including Utahns, in what is being called Super Duper Tuesday.
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