The race to determine which Republican will challenge US President Barack Obama in November has reached Nevada, the fifth state in the marathon contest and the first in the country's west.

In towns like Republican-leaning Pahrump, residents say they still lack jobs and fear the "socialism" they see Obama as pushing.

There is also a potential advantage for candidate Mitt Romney, with roughly one in ten Nevadans sharing the former Massachusetts governor's Mormon faith.

But analysts say Nevada's population is becoming less white and that an influx of Latinos means its sympathies could be turning Democratic.

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports from Pahrump.