Candidate Mitt Romney.

CNN – Las Vegas (CNN) — Mitt Romney took a large lead as the first returns started coming in from the Nevada Republican presidential caucuses on Saturday.

With 9% of the results in, Romney had about 45% of the vote while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas were tied far behind with 22% each. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who had largely bypassed the state, had 11% of the vote. Those numbers were gathered from vote counters at caucus sites across the state.

Read full story.