Sen. Hillary Clinton won the Nevada caucuses Saturday, powering past Sen. Barack Obama in a hard-fought race marred by late charges of dirty politics. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney coasted to an easy win in the Republican contest.

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The victory marked a second-straight campaign triumph for the former first lady, who scored a New Hampshire primary upset last week and is locked in an historic, increasingly tense struggle with Obama.

Romney also won at least 16 of the 31 Republican National Convention delegates at stake.

Nevada Republicans said the economy and illegal immigration were their top concerns, according to preliminary results from surveys of voters entering the caucuses. Romney led among voters who cited both issues.

Mormons gave Romney about half his votes. He is hoping to become the first member of his faith to win the White House. Alone among the Republican contenders, Paul aired television ads in Nevada.

With 1,618 of 1,797 precincts, or 90 percent of the precincts reporting, here's where the Democratic candidates stand:

• Hillary Clinton 5,304 - 51 percent
• Barack Obama 4,709 - 45 percent
• John Edwards 393 - 4 percent
• Uncommitted 31 - 0 percent
• Dennis Kucinich 5 - 0 percent
• Mike Gravel 0 - 0 percent
• Others 0 - 0 percent

With 1,708 of 1,797 precincts, or 95 percent of the precincts reporting, here's where the Republican candidates stand:

• Mitt Romney 21,447 - 52 percent
• Ron Paul 5,324 - 13 percent
• John McCain 5,216 - 13 percent
• Fred Thompson 3,245 - 8 percent
• Mike Huckabee 3,188 - 8 percent
• Rudy Giuliani 1,768 - 4 percent
• Duncan Hunter 809 - 2 percent

Romney said Republicans had cast their votes for change -- and that he was the man to provide it.

"With a career spent turning around businesses, creating jobs and imposing fiscal discipline, I am ready to get my hands on Washington and turn it inside out," he said in a statement issued while he flew to Florida, site of the Jan. 29 primary.

The Republican caucuses drew relatively little candidate interest. Not so the party's South Carolina primary, the second half of a campaign doubleheader, and a duel between McCain and Huckabee.

Romney was gaining more than half the vote in Nevada, leaving McCain and Paul in a close race for a distant second place.

Obama had pinned his hopes on an outpouring of support from the Culinary Workers Union, which endorsed him last week. But it appeared that turnout was lighter than expected at nine caucuses established along the Las Vegas Strip for the union membership.

The Nevada Democratic contest was intense, despite the absence of negative television commercials.

Clinton's victory marked a second-straight campaign triumph for the former first lady, who scored a New Hampshire primary upset last week and is locked in an historic, increasingly tense struggle with Obama.

"Today we won a huge victory by overcoming institutional hurdles and one of the worst negative ads in recent memory," the Clinton campaign said in an official statement.

The Clinton camp also said it received "numerous reports of strong arm tactics designed to discourage our voters from caucusing and found itself on the receiving end of one of the most scurrilous smear efforts in recent memory."

Obama rejected Clinton's accusations.

"We ran an honest, uplifting campaign in Nevada that focused on the real problems Americans are facing, a campaign that appealed to people’s hopes instead of their fears," Obama said.

"We’re proud of the campaign we ran in Nevada. We came from over twenty-five points behind to win more national convention delegates than Hillary Clinton because we performed well all across the state, including rural areas where Democrats have traditionally struggled," he said.

Interviews with Democratic caucus-goers indicated that Clinton fashioned her victory by winning about half the votes cast by whites, and two-thirds support from Hispanics, many members of the union that endorsed Obama. He won about 80 percent of the black vote.

Obama looked to next week's primary in South Carolina to counter Clinton's victory. The state is home to thousands of black voters, who are expected to comprise as much as half the Democratic electorate.

Romney's western victory marked a second straight success for the former governor, coming quickly after a first-place finish in the Michigan primary revived a faltering campaign.

He learned of his victory when his wife Ann announced it on the public address system of his chartered jet. "Keep 'em coming. Keep 'em coming," he said.

Romney had campaigned for months to win early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, and his candidacy was in trouble when he lost both. He retooled his appeal to the voters in the days leading to the Michigan primary, though, focusing on the economy and trumpeting his experience as a business leader.

En route to Florida, he presented reporters with the outlines of an ambitious economic stimulus plan, $233 billion in all, that is larger than anything that President George W. Bush or any of his rivals has supported.