Nevada’s largest newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday.
The endorsement comes with less than a week remaining until the Nevada caucuses on Saturday February 7th. The former Massachusetts governor is projected to win the Nevada caucuses, as he did during the 2008 Republican primary race.
The high prevalence of Mormon voters in the Silver state should be an asset to Mr. Romney.
There are also a large number of independent voters in Nevada who will likely be attracted to Texas congressman Ron Paul’s surging popularity, who did very well with independent voters in the New Hampshire Republican primary election where he finished in second place.
The remaining Republican presidential candidates won’t have much time to hit the campaign trail in Nevada, after Tuesday’s election in Florida they are left with just three days until the caucus voting in Nevada occurs.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal cites Mr. Romney’s business experience as one of their primary reasons for endorsing him.
“Mr. Romney is pro-growth all the way. He wants the country to develop all its energy resources, not punish the oil, coal and gas sectors. He wants states and citizens to have more freedom to innovate. And perhaps most importantly, Mr. Romney is a Washington outsider, not a capital insider,” said the editorial published Sunday.
Mr. Romney’s campaign team posted the editorial to his presidential campaign website with a sub heading reading “This race is between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.”
In the editorial, The Las Vegas Review-Journal also gives a nod to Mr. Paul, but claims that he simply does not have the “broad support” that he would need to win the Republican nomination in 2012.
Mr. Paul received the unconventional endorsement of prostitutes in Nevada in early January after Moonlight Bunny Ranch owner Dennis Hof announced he was endorsing the Texas lawmaker. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Hof’s endorsement provides a boost in support for Mr. Paul in the Silver state.
The Nevada newspaper was highly critical of Mr. Gingrich in their editorial endorsing Mr. Romney, citing his “burned bridges” in Washington D.C. from his stint as speaker of the House during the 1990s.
“Mr. Gingrich’s tenure as speaker was brief. He burned bridges and became a divisive figure for much of the electorate. After resigning from office in 1999 under pressure from his party, Mr. Gingrich became a political consultant,” said the editorial.
Mr. Gingrich does enjoy the support of at least one extremely wealthy Nevada resident. Las Vegas Sands Corp. casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has donated over $10 million to the pro Gingrich Super PAC Winning Our Future. His contributions to the Super PAC have been largely credited for helping Mr. Gingrich’s advertising strength in South Carolina that helped him win the South Carolina Republican primary election.
Whereas the Florida Republican primary election has come down to a two man race between Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich, the Nevada caucuses will likely be a three man showdown with Mr. Paul being in serious contention there.
