Text of a statement released Saturday by Democrat Barack Obama after the Nevada caucuses:

“We’re proud of the campaign we ran in Nevada. We came from over 25 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.

“The reason is because tens of thousands of Nevadans came out to say that they’re tired of business-as-usual in Washington and ready for a president who can bring this country together, take on the lobbyists and special interests, and end the politics of saying and doing whatever it takes to win an election. It is the kind of politics that feeds our cynicism and distracts us from taking on the real challenges facing America: an economy that’s left working families struggling, a broken health care system, and a war in Iraq that must end.

“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. That’s the campaign we’ll take to South Carolina and across America in the weeks to come, and that’s how we will truly bring about the change this country is hungry for.”