Obama Beats All GOP Candidates in Nevada Poll; Romney, Paul Closest

President Barack Obama would defeat any of the seven Republican presidential candidates in Nevada if the general election was held today, according to an 8NewsNow/Las Vegas Review-Journal poll released Wednesday, but Mitt Romney and Ron Paul pose the biggest challenges to him.

The poll found Obama leading his GOP challengers by various margins among Nevada voters:

Versus Mitt Romney: 45.7 - 39.8 percent (5.9 percent margin)

Versus Ron Paul: 45.4 - 35.7 percent (9.7 percent margin)

Versus Newt Gingrich: 47.3 - 35.4 percent (11.9 percent margin)

Versus Rick Santorum: 49.3 - 30.9 percent (18.4 percent margin)

Versus Jon Huntsman: 48.8 - 30.1 percent (18.7 percent margin)

Versus Rick Perry: 50.8 - 31.1 percent (19.7 percent margin)

Versus Michele Bachmann: 50.2 - 27.1 percent (23.1 percent margin)

Nevada is a swing state: it went Democratic in 2008, Republican in 2000 and 2004, and Democratic in 1992 and 1996. Its six electoral votes may not make or break the election the way Florida's or Ohio's will, but in an election as close as 2012's is shaping up to be, every state really does count.

As for Nevada's caucuses, which will take place Feb. 4, Romney had 33.1 percent support among Republican voters to Gingrich's 29.2 percent and Paul's 12.7 percent. The rest of the candidates had less than 5 percent support each.

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