Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished far back in fourth place but claimed victory earlier Saturday in the Nevada caucuses.

In South Carolina, McCain bested rival Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and an ordained Baptist minister who was favored to pick up evangelical voters.

"There are some tough contests ahead, and starting tomorrow in the state of Florida, where we're going to win with your support," McCain told South Carolina supporters between chants of "Mac is Back."

"But, my friends, we are well on our way tonight. And I feel very good about our challenges."

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson took third place, while fourth place went to Romney, whose Mormon faith may have caused some hesitancy with evangelical voters in South Carolina.

But Romney rolled to a win in Nevada, taking 52 percent of caucus-goers' support, partly thanks to a significant Mormon turnout.

Entrance polls by CNN showed that 27 percent of caucus-goers identified themselves as Mormon and 94 percent of those voters backed Romney. Romney was the only major GOP candidate to focus on Nevada. Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who also campaigned in Nevada, finished second. The rest of the field had their hopes pinned on South Carolina's contest.

Since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina GOP primary has gone on to be the party's nominee and the state is a traditional test of conservative support for a candidate.

Huckabee praised McCain for his win in South Carolina on Saturday and took a veiled shot at Romney, who had blasted Huckabee's and McCain's records in advertisements and fliers in previous state contests.

"I [would] rather be where I am and had done it with honor than to had won with the dishonor of getting there by attacking somebody else," Huckabee told supporters at a rally in Columbia, S.C.

Huckabee had hoped to take South Carolina, home to a base of his supporters - backers of home schooling and evangelical Christians - but indicated he was still pleased with second place and was in the race for the long-term.

"We got awful close," Huckabee said. "Unfortunately in politics, close doesn't count for the first slot. But it does count. What I want to encourage you with tonight and to remind you that politics, particularly this year than perhaps any other, this is not an event it is a process, and the process is far, far from over."

Thompson, who earlier had said he needed a victory in South Carolina to keep his campaign afloat, gave no indication he would leave the race after his disappointing third-place finish.

Romney, too, signaled he was in for a fight to the end, flying from Nevada to Florida even before results in the Silver State were announced. Florida holds its primary Jan. 29, though Romney will not have a built-in base in that state like he did in Nevada.

The Western state has about 170,000 Mormons on church rolls, according to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his fellow faithful helped him secure a large margin of victory.

Romney pointed out that while thankful for the votes of his fellow Mormons, he would have won regardless. He also noted that he also won a majority of caucus-goers who described themselves as Protestant evangelicals and Hispanic-Americans.

"I'm very pleased that I got that kind of support," Romney said. "And I expect that this campaign will cross ethnic and religious and gender lines and will generate the support I need to win the nomination."

Romney's campaign attempted to downplay the Mormon angle, 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.

Romney, who placed second in Iowa and New Hampshire and won Michigan and Wyoming, is picking up the most delegates of any GOP candidate, though he technically won none in Nevada's contest. Those delegates are chosen at conventions later this year, and the caucuses are not binding.

Romney told MSNBC that while state wins are great, he is out to win delegates as well.

"This isn't about getting a little red star on your forehead," Romney said. "This is about getting delegates."

While still running television spots in South Carolina, Romney spent only a day in the state after his Michigan win, opting to focus on Nevada instead.

The GOP race now heads to Florida, which holds a Jan. 29 primary; 22 states, including Utah, will hold primary contests on Feb. 5, a date many are calling Super Duper Tuesday.

tburr@sltrib.com