Local Democratic supporters encouraged

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004 | 9:15 a.m.

Las Vegas supporters of the Democratic presidential hopefuls who took the top three spots in the Iowa caucus Monday said they were happy with and encouraged by their candidates' showing, and are looking forward to Nevada's Feb. 14 caucus, which they said should be an important test for the candidates.

But University of Nevada, Las Vegas political science Professor Ted Jelen said that while Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and John Edwards, D-N.C., should be pleased with placing first and second respectively, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's third-place finish puts his campaign in a precarious position.

"New Hampshire is do or die for Dean," Jelen said, referring to next week's primary in the Granite State. "I think he has to come in at least second and beat Kerry or it will make it very difficult for him to continue as a viable candidate."

However, Dean supporters said they were more than pleased with a third-place finish.

Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who chairs Nevadans for Dean, said: "What was important was to get a top three ticket and we did."

Dean received 18 percent of the caucus votes, while Edwards received 32 percent and Kerry won with 38 percent.

To bolster their claim that the Dean didn't need to win the Iowa caucus, Atkinson Gates and other Dean supporters frequently noted that Jimmy Carter was the last president to win the Iowa caucus. But Atkinson Gates said none of the successful candidates since then have placed lower than third in Iowa.

"The pressure is now on Kerry and Edwards" Atkinson Gates said, adding that they now have to live up to the expectations of being the front-runners.

Former Democratic Rep. Jim Bilbray, a local leader of the Kerry campaign, said the Iowa victory will give Kerry's campaign strong momentum going into next week's New Hampshire primary.

"Two or three weeks ago they were saying we were done and Dean's got the nomination, but the rest of us thought that's not so," Bilbray said. Justin Gilbert, president of the Young Democrats of Nevada and the Edwards' campaign local organizer, said second place for his candidate "is great news" and shows the strong impact of the senator's positive campaign.

"Two weeks ago he was at 5 percent and tonight he got 32," Gilbert said.

Gilbert said Edwards may visit Nevada before the Valentine's Day caucus, and Bilbray said Kerry's staff is trying to find a date for his visit to the area.

Dean supporters said the former governor is expected in Las Vegas on Feb. 8.

Atkinson Gates said the Nevada caucus should be important because it is considered a battleground state in the general election, due to Bush's narrow victory here four years ago.

Gilbert agreed. "It's a swing state," he said.

Monday night's vote was significant, Jelen said, because, "This is the first time that real people are voting. There is no news in the presidential election until someone casts a vote."

The practical result of the Iowa caucus is that the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls will get smaller, Jelen said, making the choice of Nevada Democrats a little simpler.