Romney’s up big in Colorado, down in Minnesota, but the low turnout in Nevada is what he should be worried about

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News and notes from the presidential trail as it winds through the Western states.

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Colorado finds Mitt Romney primed for another big win in the caucuses on Tuesday.

Romney leads with 40%, followed by Rick Santorum at 26%, Newt Gingrich at 18% and Ron Paul at 12%.

Another Public Policy Polling survey in Minnesota shows a tight contest heading into Tuesday’s caucuses.

Rick Santorum holds a small edge over Romney, 29% to 27%, with Gingrich at 22% and Paul at 19%.

Yet it’s what happened in Nevada that is what Romney should be worried about. Romney’s easy victory in Nevada “might, in the long run, be less important than the fact that a surprising number of Republicans who could have participated Saturday chose to stay home,” the Las Vegas Sun reports.

“Republicans’ disappointing turnout foreshadows difficulty energizing GOP voters in Nevada, a key swing state in November’s general election.”

Turnout was unlikely to match 2008, when 44,000 Republicans participated in Nevada’s caucuses. Republicans initially predicted that 70,000 Republicans would caucus.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.