US Republican front-runner Mitt Romney appears poised for an easy win in Nevada today that would put him in firm command of the party's see-sawing presidential nominating race.
A Nevada victory would be Romney's second win in a row and his third in the first five contests in the state-by-state battle to find a Republican challenger to president Barack Obama.
Results of recent polls have help to fuel a growing sense of momentum for the former Massachusetts governor.
"Go out and caucus tomorrow. Get out there," Mr Romney pleaded with supporters at his final Nevada campaign stop last night, in a parking lot outside a pizza restaurant in
Henderson near Las Vegas.
Two polls taken this week in Nevada showed him with a lead of 20 points or more over top rival Newt Gingrich after Mr Romney recaptured his front-runner status with a convincing win in Florida on Tuesday.
Nevada, which has a faltering economy and a big Mormon population, is friendly territory for Mr Romney, a Mormon and former head of a private equity firm. He captured 51 per cent of the vote in 2008 to win the state during his failed bid.
Mr Romney has stressed his business background as a cure for the ailing economy in
Nevada, which has the highest state unemployment rate, some 12.6 per cent in December, and the highest home foreclosure rate in the US.
"This has been a tough three years," Mr Romney said in Henderson, focusing his attacks on Mr Obama. "It's time now for Barack Obama to get out of the way."
Mr Romney hopes Nevada's caucuses will launch a February winning streak that could position him for a knockout blow to Mr Gingrich during the 10 "Super Tuesday" contests on March 6th - or even sooner.
Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri will have nominating contests on Tuesday. Maine will wrap up its weeklong caucuses next Saturday, and Arizona and Michigan hold February 28th contests.
Mr Romney won Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, Maine and Michigan during his failed 2008 presidential bid. He came in second in Arizona to native son and eventual nominee John McCain, an Arizona senator, and finished third in Missouri.
Mr Gingrich is hoping to hang in the race until March, when there will be contests in several Southern states where the former Georgia congressman and US House speaker believes he can do well.
At a campaign stop in Las Vegas last night he called himself "the candidate of people power versus money power," returning to his theme that Mr Romney is a flawed product of the elite and a Wall Street favourite
But some Romney supporters say they are not turned off by his vast wealth even though Mr Gingrich has made it a campaign issue.
"To me, that's a good thing," Kim Kahn, an instructional assistant at a Henderson elementary school, said of Mr Romney's millions.
"It takes a lot to earn what he did."
Bart Hatfield, a general contractor in Henderson, said he would back Mr Romney because "he's a businessman. That's what we need in Washington."
The two other candidates in the Republican race, US representative Ron Paul and former US senator Rick Santorum, also have pledged to keep fighting beyond Nevada.
Mr Santorum will campaign in Colorado today, and Mr Paul will visit Minnesota. Mr Romney will turn his attention to the next round with a visit to Colorado later today before returning to Las Vegas for what he hopes is a victory party tonight.
Nevada Republicans will gather at various times at 125 locations around the state to hold the caucuses beginning at 11am (7pm Irish time), with all but one caucus site ending by 10 pm (6am Irish time).
One site in Las Vegas will begin at 10pm to allow Jews observing the Sabbath to participate.
Mr Romney won two of the first four contests - New Hampshire and Florida - but badly lost South Carolina to Mr Gingrich and narrowly lost in Iowa to Mr Santorum.
Reuters