Heading West

Tony Cook and Michael J. Mishak

Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006 | 7:28 a.m.

Only days after Nevada secured an early spot in the 2008 Democratic presidential nominating process, potential hopefuls are scrambling to schedule appearances and glad-hand the state's political elite.

The Nevada Democratic Party, meanwhile, is hitting the gas in an attempt to keep up with the fast-track campaigning of possible presidential contenders.

Already, phones of local elected officials and party leaders are ringing off the hook.

Those considering presidential bids who are planning at least tentative Silver State trips within the next month: Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the 2004 nominee; John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.

Warner staffer Jonathan Epstein, who led Kerry's 2004 successful presidential caucus campaign in Iowa, already has been making the rounds here. And Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh has a trio of staffers working for Nevada candidates in this fall's election.

Sen. Harry Reid said he knows of at least three other contenders who have paid staff in the state, but would not disclose the names.

High-profile Nevada Democrats also are being engaged by the slate of potential candidates. Warner and Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware have contacted former state party leader and Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid, Harry Reid's son.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has received a host of phone calls, according to his campaign consultant, Jim Ferrence.

And Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dina Titus has spoken personally with Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Richardson, Edwards, Kerry and Warner.

"They want to help me, and I appreciate that, and I won't take advantage of that, but they also want to have a presence here in the state and meet as many of the players - politically, socially and economically - as they can early on," Titus said. "After one becomes interested, they all become interested. It's kind of a reinforcing phenomenon."

The tidal wave of potential presidential candidates into Nevada is likely to test the state party's ability to handle the flood.

State Democratic Party Chairman Tom Collins, for example, has been busy selling cattle in Utah even as his voicemail and e-mail fill up with messages.

"I don't even know what's going on," he said when asked which prospective hopefuls have contacted the state party. "It's gotten pretty busy."

He said party staffers were handling most of the calls.

They also are trying to organize a game plan for the caucus itself.

In the past, a single meeting in each county served as the structure of the caucus.

Party leaders, however, plan to expand the caucus to include roughly 1,000 meetings across the state at local churches, schools and libraries, party spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said.

"We just got a hold of the rules the (Democratic National Committee) passed last week. We are taking a look at the rules and starting to formulate our game plan," Searer said.

Despite the flurry of phone calls, longtime Democratic political consultant Dan Hart, who has been contacted by Biden and Warner, says the early campaign activity in Nevada isn't as great as in states such as Iowa. The political infrastructure for an early, and thus significant, caucus has yet to be built here, he said.

"Everything is so up in the air," he said. "We've got to be playing on a lot bigger stage than we ever have."

Some naysayers feel the Nevada contest might not garner as much interest from candidates as other states with traditionally early caucuses or primaries.

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said the consensus among Democratic insiders is that states won't follow the new nominating calendar set by the Democratic National Committee.

New Hampshire, they say, could stage its primary as early as December 2007, leaving Nevada to twist in the wind until mid-January, a distant third. And several potential Democratic presidential candidates have expressed a willingness to play ball, weighting their campaign operations to New Hampshire and Iowa.

"Why would a candidate invest in a place where you might not have an early critical contest?" Sabato said of Nevada.

But state Democratic operatives and party leaders say Nevada is up to the challenge.

Mike Sloan, a longtime Democratic operative with ties to the gaming industry, said he has turned down two likely presidential contenders to focus on raising money to fund the state's caucus.

"I don't think (Nevada) should be dismissed," he said. "We have a real opportunity - if we execute it properly."

Another prominent consultant, Billy Vassiliadis of R&R Partners, said the caucus would put issues important to Western states, such as the use of public lands and water, at the forefront of the presidential race for the first time.

"Whether we're second or third, it's not going to be significantly different," he said.

While some potential candidates might be conciliatory toward a bitter New Hampshire, Nevada's senior senator is not.

"Why should this country's future be determined by a state like Iowa where there is no diversity and a state like New Hampshire where there is no diversity and no people?" Reid said.

Candidates are going to have a tough time avoiding Nevada, he said.

"We are going to have candidates come to Nevada."