Nevada

Obama campaign manager is declaring a victory of sorts in Nevada, after their campaign edged out Hillary Clinton in delegates, 13 to 12.

“In terms of the delegate count we came out with a one-delegate lead,” Plouffe said in a conference call that just ended with reporters. When asked if that meant Obama had actually won the caucus, Plouffe replied, “We’ll leave that to you guys,” and “It’s very important numerically.”

Another Obama aide, Jeff Berman, who ran the campaign’s delegate selection, explained the convoluted process by which Obama apparently had won more delegates despite losing the state by a significant margin to Clinton.

What it all meant, Plouffe said, is that the candidates are destined for a "long and protracted” nominating process.  read more »

Brian Weeks, the head of the Clinton campaign’s get-out-the-vote effort in Iowa and Nevada, said that unlike in Iowa, where the large turnout favored Barack Obama, the large number of Hispanic caucus-goers gave Hillary Clinton an edge today.

In a phone interview just now, Weeks said that exit polling he had seen today in today’s Nevada caucus suggested that Hillary Clinton won by a three-to-one margin among Hispanic voters. He also said she had won a majority of the state’s union vote despite the endorsement of Barack Obama by the powerful Culinary Workers Union.  read more »

You can call Nevada a moral victory for Barack Obama, who trailed Hillary Clinton in the state by more than 20 points just a few weeks ago.

But moral victories are worthless at this point.

Obama needed a win in Nevada and he didn't get it. Now, even if she loses South Carolina to Obama next Saturday, Clinton will still be able to claim a split of the four pre-February 5 contests in the Democratic race.  read more »

Mitt Romney has won the Nevada caucuses, but it really shouldn't mean much.

He was the only candidate --besides Ron Paul -- to sink significant time and money into the state, where he enjoyed at least one built-in advantage, thanks to Nevada's sizable Mormon population.  read more »

Barack Obama needs Nevada more than Hillary Clinton does.

This is not to say that Saturday’s caucuses are do-or-die test for Obama. Even in defeat in Nevada, Obama would be in a strong position to win in South Carolina, the final official Democratic test before February 5. In other words, Obama would still be able to enter “Super-Duper Tuesday” with wins in two of the first four contests, making him plenty viable in the nearly two dozen states that will vote that day, and the likely winner in at least a handful of them.  read more »

In announcing his endorsement for Barack Obama in a conference call just now, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont--also the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee--addressed a ruling that will take place today in a Nevada district court over whether workers on the Las Vegas strip should be allowed to participate Saturday in at-large caucus sites.

"I hope they can caucus," said Leahy. "I am one who believes in doing everything possible to get people to vote. If it means opening up extra voting places, having a mobile place, whatever works is what I believe in."  read more »

Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama, but within the margin of error in Nevada. Mitt Romney leads John McCain among Republicans. [ARG]

McCain leads Mike Huckbee 29-23 in South Carolina. [C-SPAN/Reuters/Zogby]  read more »

A little story about me: Many years ago, back when George W. Bush was just the agreeable governor of Texas, I used to work for a Washington weekly newspaper called The Hill, covering the Democrats in Congress. I dealt with a lot of press secretaries and, as a result, ended up getting stuck on a lot of mass-email lists. I quit the job and moved to New York, but for a long time the all-capitalized subject lines kept materializing in my inbox: "DEMOCRATIC WHIP BONIOR ATTACKS..."; "SENATOR CLELAND PROPOSES..."

It seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth to unsubscribe, and gradually, as mailing lists got updated and press secretaries moved on, the press releases came less and less often. Eventually, one holdout remained: the Democratic Governors Association. No matter what I did, or what far corner of the world I went to, the DGA followed me, keeping me up to date on the doings of the likes of Jennifer Granholm and Rod Blagojevich. A lot of the press releases concerned New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, which was only natural, considering that he was the chairman of the organization from 2004 until earlier this month, and, as everyone knows, is interested in running for president in 2008. At first, these self-promoting missives were annoying, just more junk mail that squirmed through the spam filter. But eventually the DGA's persistent updates became kind of touching--reminders of a time when I was younger and peace and surpluses reigned throughout the land.

Then, just yesterday, something strange happened. Right around 5 p.m., a message popped up in my inbox. It was from the something called the "2008 Presidential Draft Committee," and the subject line read: "ADVISORY: NEVADANS TO MAKE MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT 2008." The message coyly disclosed that "more than 50 prominent Nevadans" would be unveiling something this morning, and noted that "Nevada is scheduled to be the second state in the nation to hold a nomination contest, a caucus."

Initially, I assumed this had to do with the fact I was writing the Politicker this week. But then I realized that the address this mysterious message came to, my personal email account, was not the same address I put up on this website. (Sorry--I learned my lesson about mailing lists...)

So lo and behold, I sit down at the computer this morning, and I am greeted by the following message:

NEVADANS CALL FOR RICHARDSON CANDIDACY

Form "Draft Richardson Committee"

Las Vegas, NV--Seventy prominent Nevadans called on New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today to seek the Presidency in 2008.

"Nevada will be a lynch-pin in the Democratic Presidential nomination process in 2008 and many Nevadans believe Bill Richardson is the best choice to lead our party", stated "Draft Committee" Chairman Reynaldo Martinez, a resident of Incline Village, and former chief of staff to U.S. Senator Harry Reid.

I wonder how these grassroots activists will convince Richardson to run?

UPDATE: Commenter Bouldin notes the that release uses an archaic, and rather unfortunate (Freudian?), spelling of the word "linchpin."

-- Andrew Rice

This much can be said right now about the early 2008 primary and caucus schedule for Senator Hillary  read more »

This much can be said right now about the early 2008 primary and caucus schedule for Senator Hillary  read more »

One small detail on Carl Andrews' fundraising: among his donors is Winston & Strawn PAC, the fundraising arm of a lobbying firm that earned millions from the Bush Administration Department of Energy pushing for a nuclear waste repository in Nevada.

This is not to say that Andrews has done anything wrong. Winston & Strawn is a massive firm that, Yucca Mountain aside, represents a roster of blue-chip corporate clients that includes Cisco, Microsoft, McDonald's and Philip Morris. And the firm has donated money to a long list of Democrats that includes Hillary Clinton, whose Senate campaign Andrews worked for in 2000.

It's just interesting that the Chicago-based firm, which seems to donate predominantly to Republicans, has chosen its candidate in the 11th.

-- Josh Benson

In other news ….  read more »

Mismatch: The Growing Gulf Between Women and Men , by Andrew Hacker. Scribner, 199 pages, $25.  read more »

On a recent Sunday afternoon, a 35-year-old university professor in New York closed the door of his  read more »

In the final days before Election Day 2000, Dick Cheney flew into Nevada to assure worried citizens  read more »

Las Vegas is not a town I ever expected would become famous for its restaurants.  read more »

24/7: Living It Up and Doubling Down in the New Las Vegas , by Andrés Martinez.  read more »

Calling himself the single highest payer of art sales taxes in Nevada, casino magnate Steve Wynn exp  read more »

Calling himself the single highest payer of art sales taxes in Nevada, casino magnate Steve Wynn exp  read more »