Clinton's Nevada Win

This result and others to come also indicate that Latino voters are far more supportive of the Clintons than Obama. That of course is bad news for Obama given the other large blocs of voters supporting Hillary--white women, unions, and older Democratic Party members mostly 60-75) who are white males. Remember what the late, great historian and political theorist Harold Cruse (1916-2005) said about American ethnicity, "race", and political power in both the classic "The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual" (1967) and in some ways even more relevant "Plural But Equal" (1987)? These texts are both profound statements on what is happening NOW. In fact in many ways they're political prophecy. As always there's no substitute for KNOWLEDGE...

Kofi


January 19, 2008
Clinton Defeats Obama in Nevada

By JEFF ZELENY and JENNIFER STEINHAUER
LAS VEGAS – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, capturing strong support from women voters and adding a fresh boost of momentum to her campaign as the Democratic presidential race heads to South Carolina, where she is engaged in a fierce battle with her rival, Senator Barack Obama.

Mrs. Clinton’s victory in Nevada – her second straight win over Mr. Obama – underscored her strength among Hispanic voters, who comprise a large share of the electorate in several upcoming states, as the campaign expands into a coast-to-coast series of 22 contests on Feb. 5.

The New York senator had 51 percent of the vote to Mr. Obama’s 45 percent, with just over 90 percent of the state’s caucuses reporting. John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, faded to a distant third place with 4 percent of the vote.

“I guess this is how the West was won,” Mrs. Clinton told her supporters during a victory rally at the Planet Hollywood hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Speaking over loud cheers, she added: “We will all be united in November. I don’t think politics is a game. I don’t think elections are just another day in the calendar.”

Mr. Obama, in a terse statement, barely acknowledged his defeat. “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,” he said. “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.”

Mr. Obama said that he received more national delegates in Nevada than Mrs. Clinton because of his strong performance across the state, “including rural areas where Democrats have traditionally struggled.”

But some election officials said they were confused about Mr. Obama’s claim that he more delegates than Mrs. Clinton.

“I don’t know why they’re saying that,” said Jill Derby, president of the Nevada State Democratic Party, referring to the Obama campaign. “We don’t select our national delegates the way they’re saying. We won’t select national delegates for a few more months.”

In terms of the popular vote, Mrs. Clinton won most of her support in Nevada’s southern counties, while Mr. Obama was more popular in the north. Clark County, home to Las Vegas and its influential union blocs, was supporting Mrs. Clinton by an 11-point margin with 93 percent of its caucuses reporting.

Mr. Edwards’s campaign issued a statement that described the senator as an underdog “facing two $100 million candidates” and emphasized his platform against lobbyists and special interests.

“The nomination won’t be decided by win-loss records, but by delegates, and we’re ready to fight for every delegate,” the statement said.

State party officials said more than 107,000 Nevada voters attended the caucuses. It is the third state in the row to achieve record-setting turnout in the Democratic presidential nominating fight, which party strategists believe is a referendum on the Bush administration and a strong call for a new direction in Washington.

Before leaving town, the candidates made separate stops to visit hotel and casino workers, making a final appeal for support.

Voters across Nevada poured into hundreds of neighborhood precincts across the state, as well as a handful of casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, to voice their preference in the Democratic presidential campaign.

In a brief morning stop by the Mirage casino and hotel, Mr. Obama was asked whether the outcome would influence voters in South Carolina, where Democrats will vote next Saturday.

“All these things add up,” Mr. Obama said.

Nevada, the third stop in the Democratic presidential nominating fight, was perhaps the most mysterious among the early-voting states. There was no clear front runner, no reliable polling data, and no institutional history. All candidates worked feverishly to manage – usually lowering – their expectations.

The Democratic caucus, never even a minor factor in past primary seasons, has historically attracted only the party faithful; only about 9,000 people participated in the 2004 caucuses at a handful of sites. Party officials were uncertain about turnout on Saturday, but preliminary reports suggested that participation was significantly higher.

At the Flamingo hotel, one of the at-large caucus sites on the Las Vegas Strip, it was a chaotic scene. Inside the Sunset Ballroom, 245 voters registered their attendance before breaking off into their preference groups.

Maids and cooks, bellmen and bartenders – nearly all of whom wore their uniforms and matching nametags – were standing more than 20 deep. To attend the caucus, they took an hour lunch break, but as the proceedings stretched beyond the allotted time, some of the voters asked if they could leave.

A boxed lunch was served and the proceedings were translated into Spanish.

“No matter what happens at the end of this, we will leave as friends and Democrats will be working together,” the temporary chairwoman of the caucus said, standing at the front of the ballroom. “We want everyone to feel they can choose their own candidate without intimidation.”

Brenda Santiago, a housekeeper at nearby Harrah’s hotel and casino, arrived shortly before Noon. Although she is a member of the Culinary Workers Union, which supported Mr. Obama, she said she had been determined to choose her favorite candidate on her own.

And that, she said, was Senator Clinton.

“I have my own opinions,” said Ms. Santiago, 46. “Hillary has more experience – and she has Bill!”

The strength of Mr. Obama’s endorsement by the Culinary Workers Union remained an open question. The Clinton campaign had denounced the at-large precincts in casinos as unfair, but inside the Sunset Ballroom of the Flamingo Hotel, Mrs. Clinton received support from 121 people and 25 delegates, compared to 120 for Mr. Obama and 24 delegates.

The Clinton corner, dominated largely by women, cheered when the results were announced.

Nevada was chosen by the Democratic Party to hold an early contest, along with South Carolina, to increase both geographic and racial diversity. Still, as other states decided to move their primaries to Feb. 5, and the nation has focused on the traditional early states, Iowa and New Hampshire, Nevada had remained in the shadows, with fewer candidate visits and national attention.

That shifted after Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton split their earlier contests, and the culinary union here, which has about 60,000 members and is extremely influential in the Democratic stronghold of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, and hopes to play a major role in the race, threw its endorsement to Mr. Obama in a suddenly-relevant rubber match.

Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton both had offices around the state, including the Republican strong hold of Elko county, and campaign staff workers have fought for Hispanic, working class and suburban voters.

Michael M. Grynbaum contributed reporting from New York.


Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company