Herrera can call on Clinton, Gore

Jace Radke

Monday, Aug. 12, 2002 | 8:50 a.m.

Bill Clinton and Al Gore are among the high-profile Democrats who could visit Las Vegas before the November election to support Dario Herrera's congressional bid.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Friday that Herrera's campaign against Republican Jon Porter is critical to the DNC's national plans.

"I told him (Herrera) he can have anyone from Clinton and Gore to entertainers," McAuliffe said Friday at the Democratic National Committee meetings at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Herrera may need that kind of help because recent polls show him trailing Porter by double digits.

"I never worry about polls, and I think Dario is going to have massive voter turnout," McAuliffe said. "Dario's race is as important of a race as we have."

McAuliffe said Herrera would probably receive a little more attention than Rep. Shelley Berkley, who is leading Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald, her Republican opponent, in another congressional race.

Herrera has visited Washington to meet with party leaders, and McAuliffe said the goal is to achieve high visibility for Herrera locally and nationally.

He added that both races are important to the Democrats' plans to hold their advantage in the Senate and erase a six-seat deficit in the House.

"If the elections happened today we gain four to seven governors, two Senate seats and we take the edge in the House of Representatives," McAuliffe said. "Of course the election isn't today, so we have to maintain what we have now."

McAuliffe also predicted a Herrera win over Porter.

The Democratic National Committee held its summer meetings in Las Vegas for the first time over the weekend, with delegates from 47 states attending. The meetings, which are usually held in Washington, allow delegates to plot strategies and discuss issues.