White House confirms Clinton visit

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 1999 | 11:13 a.m.

President Clinton is coming to Las Vegas for a senatorial fund-raising lunch Oct. 1, the White House confirmed Monday.

First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is preparing for a run at the U.S. Senate in New York, won't accompany her husband and has no Las Vegas visits scheduled in the near future, White House officials said.

The Clinton announcement comes on the heels of news that Vice President Al Gore will hold an evening campaign fund-raiser in Las Vegas on Oct. 11. Gore is locked in a battle with former Sen. Bill Bradley for the Democratic nomination. The sites for both the Clinton and Gore visits were not announced.

A White House spokesman said Clinton will come to Las Vegas for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee lunch and leave immediately afterwards for California. He will return to Washington on Oct. 4, officials said. No further details were released.

Clinton has been in Las Vegas five times since taking office, most recently last May, when he raised $400,000 during an overnight fund-raising visit for the Democratic National Committee.

Clinton and Gore's trips may also help Las Vegas attorney Edward M. Bernstein, who has said he'll announce within 10 days whether he plans to run as a Democrat for the seat being vacated next year by Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa's decision last week to drop out of the Senate race would make Bernstein the Democratic front-runner should he choose to run. The only major candidate in the race now is former Republican Rep. John Ensign of Las Vegas.