HILLARY CLINTON

Undoubtedly the best-known presidential candidate of either party, Hillary Clinton has built a formidable campaign machine aimed at making her the first female president. Even as her celebrity fuels her run, her campaign in many ways aims to introduce voters to a different Hillary Clinton than the one they think they know. Clinton's front-runner status has evaporated elsewhere, but in Nevada, she still leads her rivals.

BIRTHDAY: Oct. 26, 1947 (60) HOMETOWN: Chicago RELIGION: Methodist FAMILY: Met Bill Clinton at Yale Law School; they married in 1975. Daughter Chelsea, 27, works for a hedge fund.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, Wellesley College, 1969; law degree, Yale Law School, 1973; postgraduate studies at Yale

EXPERIENCE: Lawyer and children's advocate; Arkansas first lady; U.S. first lady; U.S. senator from New York, 2001-present.

YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW: Raised Republican, Clinton was a "Goldwater girl" in 1964.

CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL WEB SITE WWW.HILLARYCLINTON.COM

DECISION TO RUN:

The only candidate who already has lived in the White House, Clinton says she has the unique experience to undo what she sees as the damage the Bush administration has done.

MAJOR THEMES:

Clinton has stressed her toughness and experience in the national political arena. Universal health care, which she worked on while her husband was president, has been a major theme.

IN NEVADA:

Has spent 11 days in the state and opened four offices. Leads the field in endorsements from legislators and prominent Nevadans.

IN THE POLLS

NATIONALLY

Clinton started the race as the odds-on favorite and continues to be the front-runner in national Democratic polls by a wide margin, but in the crucial early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, some polls have shown her tied or slightly behind.

IN NEVADA

Most polls have found Clinton to have a huge lead in Nevada, but the most recent statewide survey, conducted for the Review-Journal this month, had her slipping to just 8 points ahead of Sen. Barack Obama.

POSITIONS

WAR/NATIONAL SECURITY

Clinton voted to authorize the Iraq war and has refused to apologize for doing so. She is the only Democratic presidential candidate to vote for a provision designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist force. She serves on the Armed Services Committee and is regarded as the most hawkish Democratic candidate.

HEALTH CARE

Polls show voters associate Clinton more than any other candidate with the issue of health care, the No. 1 domestic concern. Her plan for universal coverage stresses "choices"; it would require that every American have health insurance, either through an employer or from a selection of private plans, and would provide subsidies to help the poor afford it.

IMMIGRATION

Clinton favors securing the border and establishing a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants already in the United States. She has wavered on whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to have driver's licenses, first refusing to take a position, then coming out in favor of a New York state plan, then turning against the idea.

NEVADA ISSUES

Seeking to own the issue of Yucca Mountain, Clinton successfully called for Senate hearings on the proposed nuclear waste repository in Nevada, which she has opposed as a senator. But Clinton does not rule out future expansion of nuclear power. She has not taken positions on mining reform and online gaming.

ENERGY

Clinton calls for strong action against global warming and toward energy independence. Clinton's energy plan focuses on creating "green-collar jobs" that "can't be outsourced" by investing in renewable-energy infrastructure.

TAXES

Clinton has acknowledged that her many policy ideas would cost a lot of money to start, but she has skirted the question of whether she would raise taxes to pay for them. She repeatedly has refused to take a position on whether payroll taxes should be increased to shore up Social Security, saying she would focus first on balancing the budget. She has not taken a position on the massive tax-code reform bill pending in the House of Representatives.

CRITICS

With the scandals that plagued her husband's administration, Clinton has faced problems with political donations, chiefly the discovery that a man who raised nearly $900,000 for her campaign was a fugitive from justice. She returned the contributions. Her Democratic rivals have criticized her positions, especially on foreign policy, but more broadly charge that she is a cold, calculating politician who has no convictions but bases her stances on polls and political expediency. The claim is made that Clinton is too "polarizing" to win a general election.