More Nevada politicians lining up behind Clinton

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign says it will announce another batch of endorsements from Nevada elected officials today.

If it seems like you've read this story before, it's because Clinton's Nevada campaign is racking up practically all the endorsements of prominent Democrats, from state officers to county commissioners to legislators to city council members.

Coming on board today will be Las Vegas City Councilman Ricki Barlow, North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Stephanie Smith and Dennis Keating, president of the Nye County School Board.

They follow a trail blazed by Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid and since trodden by such Democratic notables as former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, former Gov. Bob Miller, state Sen. Dina Titus, Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, state Treasurer Kate Marshall and long lists of business leaders and activists in the Hispanic, black and Asian communities.

The other campaigns say they aren't concerned by Clinton's domination of the endorsement field, although they all have tried and failed to get many of the same endorsements. They say they will compete by having a strong, if not star-studded, grass-roots effort.

But analysts and insiders say Clinton has worked harder and faster than other Democratic candidates to put together a formidable organization in Nevada, and the others could have a hard time cutting into her double-digit lead in polls here as a result.

"Nevada is clearly in her column, more so than any other early state," said University of Nevada, Reno political scientist Eric Herzik. "She's behind in Iowa, she's running even in New Hampshire, and she's behind in South Carolina."

More than the other candidates, Clinton appears to have seen the opportunity offered by Nevada's first-time spot on the early calendar and swooped in to monopolize the big names. And it's the people who pay attention to those names who are most likely to show up to January's caucuses, Herzik said.

"Because it's Nevada's fist time, those inside party activists are more important," he said. "They'll show up, and they have a stake in how this unfolds. Hillary got here early, she got organized early, and the others are just getting started."

It is still early, with six months before Nevada votes. As ABC News' Rick Klein quipped recently, "Nobody's really eliminated in July, except maybe the Nationals," Washington, D.C.'s basement-dwelling baseball team.

That's true here; the race isn't over in Nevada, Herzik said. But every name that goes into Clinton's column is one that doesn't go into another candidate's.

"This is a state where it always helps, regardless of party, to be connected to the powerful people on the inside," he said.

Reid said Clinton's different endorsers all have unique constituencies that they have promised to work to bring on board. "We're not seeking these endorsements so we can put out a press release every once in a while," he said. "These people each have an existing network of supporters who will serve our field operations."

Barlow, for example, recently won election to the Las Vegas City Council after serving as ward liaison for his predecessor, Lawrence Weekly. "That was my job, building bridges with the community," he said. "I bring my experience in the community to the campaign. I have influence in a variety of areas, the ability to pick up the phone and get things moving when roadblocks occur."

Barlow, who is black, said he was courted by all the other Democratic campaigns except Barack Obama's. "I like what he has to say, but his office never reached out to me, and as far as track record, Hillary has it, hands down," he said. "Race has nothing to do with it."

Smith, a one-term assemblywoman before joining the North Las Vegas City Council in 1997, said she got calls from the campaigns of Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden, and "waited quite a while to make a decision because I wanted to feel good about who I chose. I wish everybody well, but I really believe it is time for her."

Keating, who lives in Pahrump, said he hopes to get Clinton's message to rural voters. "I've started to network in Pahrump and Nye County already," he said.

The other campaigns profess indifference and deny that there's any sour grapes.

"We're not concerned about getting the names; we're concerned about getting people to do work on the ground," said Adam Bozzi, Nevada spokesman for Edwards. "Obviously, we would like the support of as many prominent elected officials as possible, but it's the people on the ground who will help us win a caucus."

Edwards has the only non-Clinton endorsement of a Nevada elected official, that of freshman Assemblyman Richard "Tick" Segerblom.

Bozzi said Edwards is in no way ceding Nevada to Clinton. "John Edwards has a four-state strategy, and Nevada is a large part of that," Bozzi said. "You'll see him here a lot more."

The Obama campaign professes to be a different kind of campaign, one that is bringing new people into politics with the candidate's refreshing approach and thus circumventing the old machines. It made that point dramatically this week with the announcement that since January, 258,000 people have contributed to the campaign. It's not yet known how many of those donors are in Nevada.

"This campaign is not just about endorsements," Chicago-based spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "It's about getting Barack Obama's message out to people who are going to go out and caucus for Barack Obama."

Richardson, who has spent the most time in Nevada, also is counting on the hoi polloi, Nevada spokesman Josh McNeil said. "On Jan. 19, 2008, the voters of this state will decide who wins the Nevada caucus," he said. "The Richardson campaign is committed to reaching out to each of those voters individually."

An aide to one of the rival campaigns, who spoke anonymously, said most of Clinton's endorsements come from her pre-existing political machine, the vast network of contacts created when her husband was president.

Many uncommitted Democrats say they are contacted constantly by the Clinton campaign. A Democratic party official, also speaking anonymously, said Reid in particular has exerted his influence.

While some see that as strong-arming, especially because Reid is chairman of the powerful County Commission and his father, Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, is the most powerful man in the U.S. Senate, it's also a matter of simply outworking the others.

"They have courted all these people like a drunken teenager. People are getting call after call with opportunities to join committees and other promises," the official said.

At a recent party Central Committee meeting in Elko, all the candidates sent representatives. But Clinton sent a personalized video in which she mentioned many party insiders and staffers by name.

"People were standing there with their mouths open," the official said.

"They couldn't believe Hillary Clinton said their name. They all wanted copies of the video."

A prominent Democratic insider who hasn't endorsed a candidate said some of the national campaigns were leery of committing too many resources to Nevada's first-time caucus effort if Clinton already has it sown up.

That, the insider said, could hurt the credibility of the new effort and diminish its significance in early-state momentum.

"In D.C., they think it (Nevada) is hers to lose, so they are not paying as much attention to Nevada as they could be."