Look to Nevada for colorful caucus sites

Churches, schools, community centers. Bo-ring.

That's where most Iowans will gather for their presidential caucuses this Thursday, as the first votes for the nominees are finally cast. But when Nevadans caucus in less than three weeks, they'll have some cooler options.

The caucus locations selected by the state Democratic Party include a cowboy bar in rural Northern Nevada, an opera house and an airport. The Republicans have a small-town casino among theirs.

To be fair, the great majority of Nevadans will, like Iowans, find their precinct location in a school, community center or library. But there are some more interesting places on the list, like the Cowboy Bar and Cafe in tiny Montello, an unincorporated town of about 175 on the Utah border in the far northeastern part of the state.

The place is owned by 69-year-old Richard Self, a former gold miner who has had the small Western-themed restaurant for the past 11 of its 104 years. "It's the last spot heading out of the state on Highway 233," Self said recently.

There are just 3,500 Democrats in all of Elko County, divided between 41 precincts.

Asked whether there were any Democrats in Montello, Self said, "There's several." Self himself is one, but he isn't sure whether he'll participate in the Jan. 19 caucus at his own establishment.

The opera house is in Eureka, the airport in North Las Vegas. And though they don't have a location for it yet, Democrats are even planning to caucus in Rachel, the nearest town to Area 51.

The Democrats' unique at-large caucuses, the nine or 10 Strip locations that shift workers will be able to attend rather than their home precincts, are likely to be held in the convention areas of Las Vegas casinos. So now you know what every single photograph from the Nevada caucuses in the national media will be.

The Republicans have a different location in Montello. They have fewer caucus sites overall: They are meeting at 113 locations, compared with the Democrats' 520.

In McDermitt, on the Oregon border in Humboldt County, Republicans will be caucusing at the Say When Casino. Also of note: At one Republican location, the Starr Valley Progressive Club in the ranchlands of rural Elko County, the address is listed as "there are no street addresses here." And some Carson City Republicans will caucus at the Governor's Mansion.

But hey, maybe we're giving Iowa a bad rap after all. According to the Iowa Republican Party's Web site, their caucus locations include a bowling alley and a seed-and-feed store.

CROONING FOR HUCK

Mike Huckabee's campaign might be nonexistent in Nevada, but he has someone singing his praises in Las Vegas.

Brian Evans, a self-described "crooner" who got his start at the Desert Inn, says he's a big fan of Huckabee, the Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor. Evans met Huckabee at a Republican event he performed at in Texas recently and was charmed, he says.

"He just seems more in tune with what's happening in 2008 than any of them," said Evans, 37, who mostly lives at Rhodes Ranch but also keeps a place in Los Angeles, where he's recording an album. He recently finished a run at Red Rock Resort.

"I think people are ready for Bush to be out of office, even the Republicans," Evans said. "Everybody is just ready for sort of a political enema."

Unfortunately for Huckabee, Evans won't be stumping for him onstage; he keeps politics out of his stage banter. Nor will he be caucusing for Huckabee on the 19th. He is registered to vote in Nevada, but Evans is a Democrat.

In 2004, Evans established residency in Hawaii to challenge veteran Sen. Daniel Inouye in the Democratic primary. He came in a distant second out of 11 candidates; he says he did it to make a point about the need for change and might run for office again sometime.

"You don't have to be rich or graduate from Yale to run for office," he said. "All you have to be is pissed off."

Evans, who has appeared on TV's "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Full House" and whose records are big in Asia, said he wasn't familiar with Huckabee's views on the issues and, when informed of some of them, didn't agree with them.

But the candidate struck him as a "straight shooter" and not too partisan. "I didn't even realize he was a Republican until 15 or 20 minutes into the conversation," he said.

If he had to choose a Democrat, it would probably be Hillary Clinton, he said. "I really like Bill and Hillary Clinton because I made so much money when they were president," he said.

STUDENTS FOR STAYING HOME

The front-loading of the presidential primary calendar has forced many campaign recalculations, including new calibrations of college-student participation.

Students will be on vacation during the Iowa caucuses on Thursday, the New Hampshire primaries next week and even the Nevada caucuses on Jan. 19.

Classes at Nevada universities don't resume until the Tuesday after the caucuses, Jan. 22.

In Iowa, some campaigns have encouraged out-of-state students to stick around and volunteer or vote, which is legal but has been criticized by Iowa purists. In Nevada, one educator suspects this won't be much of a factor.

Students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, aren't especially politically engaged, professor David Damore said. "At the end of my classes this semester, I asked who's going (to the caucuses)," he said. "In one, it was about one-third, and in another about half. And that's upper-division political science students."

In the Nevada System of Higher Education, which is the only major higher-ed game in town, just 14 percent of students systemwide are out-of-state. Even those who take long winter vacations will probably be back by the last Saturday before classes resume. Whether they'll tune in is another matter.

"The campaigns have been active on campus. They've been recruiting students," Damore said. "But the effect is kind of mixed. Some of my students see it as an opportunity, and they're interested in working in politics. But some of my students have gone to work for campaigns and come away kind of disillusioned."

Contact political reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2919.