For 5 Coming Contests, 4 Diverse Approaches WASHINGTON - If Mitt Romney thought another thumping of his opponents in Nevada would do the trick, he was mistaken. He produced a victory in the first Western contest that left his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination far behind, struggling with one another for second, third and fourth place. The victory speech by Mr. Romney barely acknowledged their existence. But the disconnect between Mr. Romney's quick shift toward the general election and the intentions of his not-going-to-give-up rivals is highlighted by their plans for the rest of the month. In their commentary in the hours after the voting in Nevada, the four candidates laid out different realities. Each one will approach the next five contests - in Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan and Arizona - with their own tactics and goals. Here is a summary of how each candidate appears to see the weeks ahead: MITT ROMNEY Mr. Romney, below, heads to the next February contests eager to maintain the turn toward the general election. His campaign will continue to attack Newt Gingrich, and the others, when necessary. But the goal will be to rack up victories while appearing presidential, not mired in a continuing primary. Colorado, Minnesota and Michigan should be especially good for Mr. Romney, who won all three states handily in the 2008 primary contest. Colorado and Michigan, especially, provide opportunities for Mr. Romney to try to confront President Obama in states that will be critical in the general election, thereby ignoring his rivals even further. After his success in the Nevada caucus, Mr. Romney spent his victory speech focused on attacking Mr. Obama. His only mention of his Republican rivals was a vague reference to "the other people running for president" and an assertion that he knows more than they do about creating jobs in the United States. NEWT GINGRICH Mr. Gingrich, below, appears determined to spend February in a battle to the death with the front-runner. At a news conference late Saturday night, Mr. Gingrich repeatedly denounced Mr. Romney as a liar who favors abortion rights and taxes, a stooge of the Republican establishment and the favored candidate of George Soros, a liberal billionaire. Mr. Gingrich said he intended to campaign in Colorado and Minnesota in the coming days. But he made clear that his focus lay beyond February, on the states that vote in March. He said he would begin campaigning in Ohio and several of the Southern states that vote on Super Tuesday in early March. The idea, he said, was to amass close to an equal amount of delegates as Mr. Romney by the time of the Texas primary on April 3 to remain competitive. But Mr. Gingrich also said that despite a pledge to run a positive campaign, he intended to spend the next several weeks hammering away at Mr. Romney's character and record, accusing him of being a "Massachusetts liberal" that Republican voters would reject. His challenge will be campaigning without his greatest weapon - a debate. The only debate scheduled so far is on Feb. 22, just before the Arizona and Michigan primaries. RON PAUL Mr. Paul, too, has vowed to continue pursuing the presidency during February and beyond. On Saturday night, he made remarks from Minnesota, where he has already begun campaigning. But Mr. Paul appeared less like a candidate and more like the leader of a movement, as he has for weeks now. "It sounds like the revolution has already come to Minnesota," Mr. Paul said after entering to loud applause. His long speech indicates that he intends to advocate for his "cause" of liberty as he continues to amass delegates from his likely second-, third- or fourth-place finishes. RICK SANTORUM Mr. Santorum has said he thinks he will do very well in Minnesota, where he spent Sunday campaigning. But even if he does not win any states this month, he said that would not stop him from staying in the race. Like Mr. Paul, Mr. Santorum's strategy is to amass delegates all the way to the Republican convention, and he had already left Nevada by the time the voting was under way. Speaking to a crowd in Colorado on Saturday, where he had been all day, Mr. Santorum described his desire to push forward this month as a goal to provide voters with a better choice than Mr. Romney. Mr. Santorum also criticized Mr. Romney, accusing him of "giving away" the issues of health care, cap-and-trade energy legislation and bank bailouts. But his words were less harsh than Mr. Gingrich's, and he talked more broadly about the need to offer a more truly conservative choice as he travels to Colorado, Minnesota and the other states.