For Hillary and Obama, It's On To Nevada
Posted on Thu Jan 10, 2008 at 07:33:00 AM EST
Tags: Nevada 08 (all tags)
Nevada will hold caucuses on January 19. The Republican caucuses are non-binding so no one is paying attention. But the Democratic race is heating up. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama increased volunteers and campaign workers in the state right after Iowa. Obama currently has more field offices open than Hillary.
In North Las Vegas on Wednesday, an Obama field office was buzzing with activities and people came in from the streets looking for yard signs and T-shirts. (“Tell Mama Vote Obama” remained on the wall, and there was not a sign for the taking.)
“Senator Obama has invested heavily into this state,” said Shannon Gilson, a spokeswoman for his campaign here. “We aren’t taking anything for granted.”
As I noted yesterday, Obama has garnered the endorsement of two influential unions while Clinton picked up the support of the state's Democratic Congresswoman.
Nevada will be the first western state to vote. Traditionally Republican, except for Clark County which includes Las Vegas, the demographics have been changing. From the NY Times article linked above:[More...]
....in recent months, Democratic voter registration has passed that of Republicans, and Nevada is a genuine swing state.... “It is a place that is in transition from Old West, libertarian, small-state mind-set to ‘Hey, we are a major player,’ with gaming and politics. The Democrats have made the interior West the place to win, and this is a winnable state.”
Economics, and health care in particular, are the issues of the day.
In Nevada candidates will find a booming state with a population far more concerned with infrastructure and traffic than farm subsidies and family values, and one bedeviled by some of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.
Health care, the theme of advertising by both Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, is the issue of the day here, along with the Iraq war.
What about John Edwards?
John Edwards, who pulled workers out of the state early in the campaign, has had a harder time getting traction.
“There are no real social services here,” said David Damore, a political scientist at the University of Nevada. “So to come here and tell people they need to care about the poor is not a winning strategy.”
My question: Who is Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman (one of my all-time heroes) supporting? As of mid-November, in this interview with CNN, he was staying mum. But he says that could change. He's met Hillary several times and at the time of the interview in November, she was very much favored in the race as she got there early. But, Oscar says, the unions will play a big role if they decide to become active in their endorsement.
Other issues of import in Nevada, according to Oscar: nuclear waste facilities and gaming laws.
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