Romney wins Nevada Republican caucuses

Mitt Romney won quiet Republican caucuses in Nevada on Saturday while John McCain and Mike Huckabee dueled in a hard-fought South Carolina primary, two races likely to winnow the crowded field of rivals in a wide-open presidential nomination race. Democrats shared the stage in Nevada, where Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama vied for a caucus victory and the campaign momentum that goes with it. In a statement released while he flew to Florida, site of the Jan. 29 primary, Romney said Nevada Republicans had cast their votes for change. "With a career spent turning around businesses, creating jobs and imposing fiscal discipline, I am ready to get my hands on Washington and turn it inside out," it said. Romney's western victory marked the former Massachusetts governor's second straight success, coming quickly after a first-place finish in the Michigan primary revived a faltering campaign.