Lieberman attends black church services in Las Vegas

Lisa Snedeker

Monday, Nov. 6, 2000 | 10:18 a.m.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman attended two predominantly black church services in Las Vegas Sunday morning to rally voters two days before the general election.

"Knock on some doors in the next few days," the Connecticut senator said, referring to a New Testament verse in the church bulletin. "We need to get out the vote on Tuesday."

The Rev. Willie Davis at the Second Baptist Church, where the sanctuary that seats 1,500 was about half full, also jokingly encouraged his parishioners to not get lost on their way to the voting booth.

"Every person in here that's breathing I want to get to the polls on Tuesday. We want to make sure you don't get lost in the Bushes," he said, in a pun on the name of the Republican candidate.

Lieberman also attended services attracting about 800 at a neighboring Baptist church, which are located near downtown in west Las Vegas, one of the city's most historic and poorest districts that voted 94 percent Democrat in the 1998 election.

Joining Lieberman for the 11 a.m. services were his wife Hadassah, two daughters and his daughter-in-law. He spoke to each congregation for about 20 minutes.

It was the second stop of the day for Lieberman's whirlwind Western tour that began with him visiting briefly in Albuquerque with diners over a cup of coffee at a restaurant near the University of New Mexico. He left Las Vegas to head for stops in Oregon and Washington before ending his day in Minneapolis.

Republican vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney was scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas about 8:30 p.m. and spend the night before attending an appreciation breakfast Monday outside the Nevada Republican headquarters to thank several hundred GOP volunteers.

It was Lieberman's second trip to Las Vegas in nine days, and Cheney's third stop in Nevada in the past month. With the presidential race remaining extremely close, Nevada's five electoral votes could play an important role in determining the next president.