Hillary Clinton Rolls Through Nevada on a Razor's Edge

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has won Nevada's Democratic caucuses, giving her two early contest wins over her rivals for her party's presidential nomination.

"I guess this is how the West was won," Clinton told cheering supporters in Las Vegas. The victory was her second straight, coming after an upset win in the New Hampshire primary.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama ran a strong second, with former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards finishing a distant third.

Voters told NPR that the economy was the most important issues on their minds, including job stability and the high number of foreclosures in the state.


More than 120,000 Democrats — nearly one-third of all of Nevada's registered Democrats and 10 times the number of Nevadans who participated in 2004 — showed up at 520 precincts around the state. This marks the first year Nevada has held an early presidential contest.

Exit polls conducted by the Associated Press and TV networks show that Clinton received the support of female voters, Latinos and senior citizens— winning despite the fact that two major union endorsements went to rivals Obama and Edwards.

Nearly half of Nevada Democrats surveyed in exit polls said they were looking for someone who can make changes. Clinton overwhelmed Obama among the quarter of Nevada Democrats looking for a candidate with the right experience.

Nevadans gathered Saturday in high schools, casinos and cowboy bars for the state's first early presidential caucuses.

As caucus-goers waited to register, candidates worked the long lines, shaking hands and taking photos with supporters. Former President Bill Clinton brought along daughter Chelsea to hand out buttons and fliers to union workers and urge them to support his wife. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama had already received the endorsement of the culinary workers' union, which has roughly 60,000 members.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards left Nevada Friday to focus on other primary contests, after a week of feverish campaigning in the Silver State. Although he came in third in the caucuses, he secured the support of United Brotherhood of Carpenters, as well as the United Steelworkers.

Nine hotels and casinos had been designated as Democratic caucus sites, in a move aimed at making it easier for casino workers to participate. The state Democratic Party let the culinary workers' union, which has endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, choose the sites. The decision was challenged in court by the state teachers' union, which argued that the sites unfairly favor Obama. Ultimately, the court decided the sites were acceptable.

In the days leading up the Nevada caucuses, a Reno Gazette-Journal poll showed Clinton, Edwards and Obama in a statistical dead heat: Obama with 32 percent, Clinton with 30 percent and Edwards with 27 percent.

But Clinton spent little time savoring her victory in Nevada.

The candidates scattered Saturday afternoon to other campaign spots to prepare for upcoming primaries. Next on the calendar is the South Carolina Democratic primary on Jan. 26.

From NPR staff reports and the Associated Press.

Nevada Embraces Romney in 08 Primary

“Today, the people of Nevada voted for change in Washington. For far too long, our leaders have promised to take the action necessary to build a stronger America, and still the people of Nevada and all across this country are waiting,” Romney said in a statement. “Whether it is reforming health care, making America energy independent or securing the border, the American people have been promised much and are now ready for change.”

Following up on his win in Michigan and backed by a sizeable Mormon population, former Gov. Mitt Romney was projected to notch another victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, adding to his growing pile of delegates in the changing Republican race for the party’s presidential nomination.

The victory was widely expected and the Associated Press moved quickly to declare Romney the victor even before the first precincts reported. Long-shot Libertarian candidate Rep Ron Paul of Texas was the only other GOP candidate to mount a serious effort in the state.

As the Republican campaigns continue with different candidates scoring victories in different state contests, some analysts have started to say the campaigns should start focusing on the math of the delegate count — a fact Romney was quick to point out even ahead of Saturday’s vote.

“There are 24 delegates in South Carolina, and there are 34 delegates in Nevada,” Romney told reporters Thursday. “I want delegates, and I’m pleased that I’ve been able to get delegates. The fact that I came in second in a couple of primaries — I know some people think that’s a devastating thing — actually, I got delegates. And I’m looking to rack up the delegates I need to win the nomination.”

As he crisscrossed the state on Friday, Romney stressed his campaign theme of traditional politics failing to help ordinary voters.

“As you think about the promises made and compare them with the promises delivered, you realize that Washington is broken. And I’m going to Washington to finally bring change and get the job done,” Romney told about 200 people in snow-covered Elko, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Turnout, which had been doubted during the chaotic days ahead of the vote, appeared to be heavy and forced a 45-minute delay at some sites, according to the GOP officials.

“I can’t believe how many showed up,” Marilyn Brainard told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

One of the cornerstones of Romney’s Nevada victory appeared to be Mormons, who went nearly 90 percent for the former Massachusetts governor.

“They are very powerful here,” David F. Damore, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told The New York Times. “Normally you see this antagonism between the Christian right and Mormons. You don’t see that here.”

Mormons, according to projections, made up nearly 20 percent of the voters in Saturday’s contests.

But beyond their faith, Nevada voters cited the economy and illegal immigration as the overwhelming issues behind their voting. The issues largely paralleled what NewsHour reporters found during a week-long series of reports from Las Vegas in November.

McCain Takes S. Carolina

With the ghost of 2000 behind him, McCain told the Associated Press, "It just took us a while. That's all. Eight years is not a long time."

Arizona Sen. John McCain won the South Carolina GOP primary on Saturday, edging out former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in a tight race in a state that effectively ended his presidential bid eight years ago. With nearly all precincts reporting, McCain had a lead of about three percentage points over Huckabee.

Since 1980, the winner of this primary has also been the party's nominee. McCain also collected a victory in the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8, but lost the contest in Michigan on Jan. 15 to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who also won Saturday's caucuses in Nevada.

But in South Carolina, widely respected for its kingmaker role in recent GOP nomination fights, Romney finished a distant third — not far ahead of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, whose campaign seemed to be on the ropes. Thompson had said he needed a strong showing in South Carolina to revitalize his prospects.

Huckabee told supporters that he wished that he had won and then complimented his rival McCain.

"I want to thank him for running a civil, good campaign. That's one of the things that I'm proud of," Huckabee said.

The race was closely watched not only because of South Carolina's predictive role in the past, but because polls had shown several candidates in a close contest here this month, with many voters remaining undecided.

South Carolina Republicans went to the polls in drab, cold weather, with snow in the state's upper regions, where many of the state's more conservative, evangelical Christian voters live.

Voters in the capital city of Columbia told NPR they were most concerned about national security, immigration and the economy. Unemployment in the state has reached 6.6 percent, the third-highest rate in the country.

Early exit polls conducted by the Associated Press and TV Networks showed that moderate voters and older voters supported McCain, while those attending church most often (more than once a week) more often voted for Huckabee. Military veterans made up one fourth of the Republican voters, and McCain had a 10-point lead over his rival with this group.

Former Baptist minister Huckabee had the advantage of campaigning in a state where at least 40 percent of the voters consider themselves evangelicals. More than half of those voting Saturday identified themselves in this camp.

Some of the vote count was delayed on primary day as voters in Myrtle Beach reported malfunctioning electronic voting machines, and some were forced to use paper ballots.

In the days leading up to the primary, there were reports of campaign smear tactics, including fake Christmas cards and phony telephone surveys intended to slander candidates. One leaflet that circulated even tried to cast aspersions on McCain's five years as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam. The calls and leafleting were paid for by independent groups, which may not coordinate with the candidate under federal election law.

The tactics harkened back to McCain's defeat here in 2000, when rumors circulated that McCain's wife was a drug addict and that his adopted Bangladeshi daughter was a mixed race child he had fathered out of wedlock. McCain lost the South Carolina primary that year to George W. Bush.