Romney wins with 50 percent, Gingrich edges out Paul for second in final Nevada tally

Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters at his Nevada caucus night victory celebration in Las Vegas, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

LAS VEGAS – Nevada Republicans early Monday released the final results of their Saturday morning caucuses.

As projected, Mitt Romney easily won for a second time after his 2008 victory in the state. Romney finished with 50 percent.

Newt Gingrich came in second with 21.1 percent, edging out Ron Paul who had 18.7 percent. Paul won second place in Nevada in 2008. Rick Santorum finished last with 9.9 percent.

The results came nearly two days after voters began casting ballots Saturday morning.

GOP officials blamed the delay on voting discrepancies and the old-fashioned voting method of handwritten ballots.

GOP executive director David Gallagher says representatives from each of the campaigns approved the counting process.

Only 32,963 voters participated in the caucuses, far short of the 44,000 Republicans who voted in the 2008 GOP caucuses.