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.