Romney opens big poll lead in Nevada Friday, 03 February 2012 04:19

LAS VEGAS, Nevada: Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney holds a huge lead two days before Nevada’s caucuses, a poll showed yesterday, as he looked to build on a Florida win to lock up his party’s nomination.

The new survey came as Romney and his rival Newt Gingrich campaigned head-to-head in Las Vegas, where real estate mogul Donald Trump was set to endorse one of them -- Romney, according to the latest reports -- during the day.

Romney was back on track a day after stumbling with a gaffe about poor Americans, as a new poll gave him 45 percent to Gingrich’s 25 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers.

Nevada Republicans hold caucuses on Saturday to pick 28 delegates to the Republican national convention, the first nominating contest in the western United States.

Trailing in the Nevada poll, by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and 8NewsNow, were former senator Rick Santorum with 11 percent and Texas congressman Ron Paul with nine percent.

Both frontrunner candidates headed from Florida to the western battleground state of Nevada on Wednesday, a day after Romney soundly defeated Gingrich in the Sunshine State, retaking the lead in the White House nomination race.

But the multi-millionaire former Massachusetts governor triggered immediate criticism for a controversial comment about America’s poorest citizens, which threatened to slow his momentum.

“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it,” said Romney, a wealthy businessman who last week acknowledged earning $20m in 2010.

The remarks came as the race for the right to take on Democratic President Barack Obama in November widens into more states, and were quickly seized upon by his opponents.

But Romney swiftly tried to explain his remarks, telling reporters traveling with him on his plane that they should consider everything he said, rather than just part of a sentence.

“Of course I’m concerned about all Americans... poor, wealthy, middle class, but the focus of my effort will be on middle income families who I think have been most hurt by the Obama economy,” he said later.

At a campaign stop in Las Vegas on Wednesday evening Romney was back on track, drawing cheers with his usual stump speech and taking digs at Obama’s policies, including his backing for “European-style” health care.

Romney also attacked the “naivety” of an announcement Wednesday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the US plans to end its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2013, one year before most US troops are due to withdraw.

“Why in the world do you go to the people that you’re fighting with, and tell them the day you’re pulling out your troops? It makes absolutely no sense,” he told hundreds of supporters in a suburban Vegas warehouse.

Yesterday all eyes were on Trump, who scheduled a “major announcement” for 12:30pm (2030 GMT).

Media including the New York Times initially cited sources Wednesday, including a senior Gingrich campaign official, as saying Trump would endorse the former House speaker.

But CNN and the New York Times both reported yesterday that Trump would endorse Romney.

AFP

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