Obama backers pursue voters

State Sen. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, addressed about 25 volunteers gathered at a city park in the northwest valley Saturday morning.

"We are part of a movement," he said. "This is not just about the Democratic Party. This is about a movement to change the way government works, a movement to change the way politics work. Barack Obama set that as his vision, and we are a part of that."

Technically, Obama is not yet the Democratic presidential nominee. But with the race going on far longer than virtually anyone expected and with the Republican nomination wrapped up, Obama's campaign is proceeding as if he were.

Saturday's event at Don Romeo Park, near the intersection of Buffalo Drive and Cheyenne Avenue, was the kickoff of an Obama campaign voter registration drive aimed at success in November.

It was one of more than 100 such events across the country, including another in Reno, staged by the campaign to begin its general-election push, even though Hillary Clinton remains in contention.

With John McCain already stumping around the country as the Republican standard-bearer, Obama's campaign doesn't want to fall behind in organizing for the battle beyond the primary.

The campaign is "already putting resources into the state of Nevada for the general because he recognizes we built something here for the caucus," said Horsford, referring to the Jan. 19 contest that drew an astonishing 118,000 people on the Democratic side, including 30,000 new registrants.

The campaign has sent a staffer to Las Vegas to build the organizing effort. Dan Herman, 24, has been made a nomad by the long campaign. "I have a mailing address in Chicago, but I haven't been there in a while," he said. "I was in South Carolina for eight months, Oklahoma for a week, Texas for a week and Pennsylvania for six weeks."

Herman directed the volunteers with their clipboards of voter-registration forms to parks, libraries and stores.

The Saturday event came as Obama, already leading in the delegate count from primaries and caucuses, surpassed Clinton for the first time in support from party superdelegates.

Obama supporter Nancy Kuhns, 63, a paralegal in Las Vegas, said she didn't see any mathematical way for Clinton to get the nomination anymore. "I was a huge fan of Bill (Clinton), but there are no turns," she said. "It's not her turn, and the more he says that the more he alienates the young voters."

She said she wasn't worried that Obama had lost precious campaign time to the drawn-out nomination contest. "I don't think McCain has any organization in Nevada," she said. "If he does, I haven't seen it. Usually you see plenty of Republican yard signs in the neighborhood, but I'm not even seeing that."

Donald Woods, 17, will be old enough to vote for the first time in November. He said he's working for Obama because he believes in the Illinois senator's ideas and ability to make a difference.

"He's ahead, but she just keeps going," Woods said. "She's got the ambition, she doesn't see why she should give up. It's making her look bad."

The volunteers Saturday were targeting their efforts at state Senate District 6, where Democrats are hoping to unseat Republican state Sen. Bob Beers and take the majority in the upper house of the Legislature, currently an 11-10 Republican advantage.

Horsford on Friday was elected by the state Senate Democrats to be their new leader, the first change in leadership in the caucus in 15 years. State Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, the longtime leader, is running for Congress and leaving the Nevada Senate.

"The Obama campaign believes this whole process has been about building the party," Horsford said of the long primary race. "He's committed to Nevada. He's as close as he can possibly be to being the presumptive nominee. He wants to get going building resources for the general election, he doesn't want to wait until after the (national) convention," scheduled to be held in Denver in August.

"I'm excited that he has followed through on his commitment to Nevada," Horsford added. "We are building that structure so that once we have a nominee in place, we can get going."

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