Resisting Sin City, candidates give in to Nevada
LAS VEGAS -- The Strip dazzles like a giant fishing lure, dangling promises of easy money, sex, and margaritas-by-the-yard inside grand hotels that make up America's most notorious adult theme park.
It could also be a potential minefield this campaign season for stressed-out candidates and their staff members, who must maneuver through a difficult political landscape while resisting the temptations of Sin City.
After all, the current governor, Jim Gibbons, won election last year despite allegations during the heat of the campaign that the Mormon politician shoved a casino cocktail waitress against a wall when she refused his sexual advances. Gibbons said he was just helping her keep from falling.
Yet candidates don't dare duck the state. Since Nevada brought forward its presidential caucuses to next January, the Silver State has become one of the must-visit states for candidates hoping to secure an early victory and gain momentum going into the Feb. 5 slew of primaries.
With a diverse electorate and fragmented political power base that has not coalesced around a favorite candidate, Nevada offers an unusual opportunity for lesser-known candidates to score an early win in the West.
But Las Vegas also overflows with temptations that campaigns don't need if they want to stay focused and scandal free.
"You have 24-hour access to alcohol. You have 24-hour access to gambling. You have legalized prostitution on the other side of the county line," said Kenneth E. Fernandez, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"There's far more opportunity to get in trouble here than in Iowa, definitely," Fernandez said, referring to another early caucus state.
Nevadans say they don't judge. But presidential campaign operatives know that such stories -- while tolerated in a town with the motto "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" -- don't play too well on the national stage.
"We were jokingly told to be careful -- to stay away from the brothels," said a Democratic presidential staff member who asked not to be named.
As Democratic consultant Peter Fenn put it: "There's a lot of temptation."
Home-grown presidential staff members say they aren't too interested in Las Vegas's 24-seven party scene, which is more of an attraction for tourists.
"People who live here don't gamble. I never go to the Strip unless I go to a show," said Roberta Lange, Nevada state director for the Democratic presidential campaign of Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico.
Nevada presents some thorny political challenges as well. The fastest-growing state in the nation, it attracts 5,000 new residents every month. "It's a volatile vote," said Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen, Democrat of Las Vegas. "If Richardson comes back a month [after a campaign visit], there will be new voters here."
While Nevada has its political power brokers, such as Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid, the state is still wide open to both the Democratic and Republican fields, Fernandez said. The union vote -- especially the Culinary Workers Union, whose 50,000 to 60,000 members could have an enormous impact on the Democratic caucuses, should they vote as a block -- is especially critical here, analysts said.
Further, candidates may get into trouble if they take Nevada-friendly stands opposing a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain and supporting Internet gambling -- positions that are unpopular in places such as Iowa and South Carolina, which have primaries close to Nevada's, said Jon Ralston, a Las Vegas-based independent political consultant.
Richardson was the first to open a campaign headquarters in Nevada; the homey-looking office sits in a leafy neighborhood street in what locals say is the "real" Las Vegas. Other campaigns have announced state directors and field staff but have not yet rented real estate here.
Nevada drew increased campaign traffic in 2004, because it was considered a battleground state in the general election, Ralston said. But this year, the state expects to host an unprecedented number of visits from candidates in both parties.
Democrats have held two forums in Nevada and all the GOP candidates have visited the state.
Last winter, Democrats moved the Nevada contest from its usual mid-February date to Jan 19, 2008, soon after the traditional first caucuses in Iowa, to highlight the party's increasing focus on the West. The change is also intended to give a stronger voice to Latinos, who make up nearly a fourth of the state's population.
Republicans are expected to move their contest to the same day, despite rules of the Republican National Committee that prohibit states from holding primaries or caucuses before Feb. 5 of next year.
Although the state has only five electoral votes, a win in Nevada could give a boost to a back-of-the-pack candidate just before the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. The state could be especially key for Richardson, who is part-Latino and a Westerner, and to former North Carolina senator John Edwards, who appeals to organized labor.
While candidates and their staffs may want to avoid trouble on the Las Vegas Strip, they can't avoid it entirely. The opulent casino hotels are perfect for meetings and fund-raising. In March, Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, held a fund-raiser at Mandalay Bay, a Caribbean-themed hotel. Also that month, Richardson spoke to a Nevada Democratic group at the Riviera.
While those who play on the Strip tend to be from out of state, the employees who staff the restaurants, casinos, and bars there are members of the powerful Culinary Workers Union. With 60,000 members, the union could be a crucial force in the Democratic caucuses, Fernandez said.
It is possible to campaign in Nevada away from the neon lights. Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York, recently quietly attended a Reno fund-raiser. His only contact with reporters was outside a Costco discount store. "Not everybody overdoes it here," Ralston said. 