Nevada Poll Gives Romney Wide Lead February 2, 2012, 1:20 pm Fresh off his strong win in Florida, a new poll in Nevada delivers more good news for Mitt Romney, showing him with a wide lead over Newt Gingrich just days before the state's caucuses. The poll, conducted by Cannon Survey Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and 8NewsNow, found Mr. Romney supported by 45 percent of likely caucusgoers, compared with 25 percent for Mr. Gingrich, 11 percent for Rick Santorum and 9 percent for Ron Paul. About 1 in 10 say they are still undecided. Caucuses are typically low-turnout affairs and largely hinge on candidates" ability to organize in the state and get their supporters to show up. Yet the poll, which was conducted almost entirely before Mr. Romney's win in Florida on Tuesday, offers some encouraging signs for him as he aims to continue his momentum. And it's the first publicly released survey involving live telephone interviews since the nominating contests began in Iowa. Nevada will be the first contest this election season where there will likely be a significant number of Mormon voters - a boon for Mr. Romney, who is Mormon. In the 2008 Nevada Republican caucuses, Mormons turned out in large numbers, accounting for about a quarter of all caucusgoers. In polls taken of voters entering those sites, 95 percent of Mormons backed Mr. Romney, who went on to win the state with 51 percent of the vote. The latest poll suggests Mr. Romney is again poised to receive overwhelming support from Mormon voters, although the outcome will be affected of course by the turnout. But as was also the case in 2008, Mr. Romney has the backing of Protestant voters, Catholics and other Christians in the university poll. Mr. Gingrich still beats Mr. Romney among strong Tea Party supporters, a group that he also did well with in earlier contests, including Florida's. But Mr. Romney battles back in the poll among a majority who say they have some support for the Tea Party. The statewide telephone poll was conducted Jan. 27-31 among 426 likely Republican caucusgoers and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus five percentage points.