White House dream gone with Bayh

By Michael Mishak

Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006 | 7:09 a.m.

He lost a campaign for mayor of North Las Vegas last year, but Andres Ramirez still dreamed of reaching the White House by 2009.

Those dreams evaporated, though, when the man he hoped would be the next president - Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. - dropped out of the race this month, just before Ramirez was to travel to Washington to talk strategy with him.

"Obviously, that was scrapped," a dejected Ramirez said last week.

He took the trip anyway, using the opportunity to visit friends. He even met with Bayh, who had been preparing for a presidential bid since his re-election to the Senate in 2004.

The two talked - not about political strategy in the Mountain West, as originally planned, but about tying up the loose ends of a dead campaign.

"I made a choice, and unfortunately my candidate decided not to pursue it," Ramirez said. "It may turn out that I have to sit out this cycle."

For the 28-year-old Ramirez, the experience was bittersweet. He began his career in politics as an aide to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and later served as deputy director in Gov. Bob Miller's Washington office. He also has been a consultant for several Nevada campaigns and national interest groups, specializing in Hispanic outreach.

But nothing came close to the headiness of playing a key role in a presidential campaign, even if it lasted for only about a month.

One of Bayh's six senior advisers, Ramirez was hired just after the November election to direct campaign operations in the Mountain West, in addition to developing a national strategy for Hispanics.

"They wanted someone who had experience with campaigns and elections in Nevada," he said.

By most accounts, Bayh - before dropping out - had pumped more resources into the Silver State than any other likely presidential contender. The senator sent three staffers here to work on Democratic campaigns in the general election. And the hiring of Ramirez seemed to represent a new level of commitment in the run-up to the 2008 caucus.

In his monthlong courtship of Nevada's political establishment, however, he said another candidate's name often could be found on leaders' lips: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Reynaldo Martinez, Reid's former chief of staff, had been working the same circuit on Richardson's behalf.

Nevertheless, Ramirez said, he had begun making headway when he got the bad news.

He said he had just finished interviewing a group of Democratic activists in Las Vegas for Bayh's Nevada campaign team on Dec. 15 when his cell phone rang. He was told to join a conference call.

To his surprise, Ramirez found himself on the line with Bayh and the other members of the senator's senior staff. The mood was dark.

"Honestly, it was shocking," he said. "We were all moving full-speed ahead, making assessments to help Evan Bayh become the next president of the United States."

As Ramirez soon learned, Bayh had been doing his own assessments, trolling through internal polls that showed him to be little more than a blip on the Democratic presidential radar. Eclipsed by political superstars such as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Bayh decided to drop out.

Ramirez said he and the others tried to get the senator to reconsider. "We still thought it was worth the fight and thought it was attainable," he said.

In the end, though, Bayh told his advisers that the numbers just weren't there, and that it would be unfair to both them and his longtime contributors to continue his bid for the White House, Ramirez said.

Ramirez has no regrets.

"If I had to do it again, I would," he said.

With Bayh out of the race, Ramirez said, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Richardson are the two likely contenders to watch in the Silver State. Edwards has been courting labor leaders here, and Richardson has been a frequent visitor.

For now, Ramirez said, he's keeping his options open.

And he offered some free advice for the candidates who make it to Nevada in 2008.

"Be here and be active," he said. "That will make the biggest difference."

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