Romney takes Nevada by a landslide

With 71% of precincts reporting, the results of the Nevada Republican Caucus are in – Romney by a huge margin.

The numbers show Mitt Romney very close to taking a majority – a sign that the right is solidifying around a single candidate in order to defeat President Obama in the 2012 general election.

Romney currently has 48% of the Nevada vote, Newt has 23%, Paul 18% and Santorum 11%. The distance between the front-runner and all the “anyone but Romney’s” is vast and seems to be increasing with every new state’s preliminary election.

Newt Gingrich held a post-caucus press conference where he vowed not to drop out because his campaign has “over 160,000 donors, 97 percent of whom have given less than $250. We have an obligation to them to stand up for their values, their concerns, and the reasons they’ve gotten involved.”

The race moves on through the west and mid-west in states like Colorado, Minnesota and Ohio. If Santorum and Paul pick up a significant number of delegates in those states, expect to see one or both drop out ahead of “Super Tuesday.”