Political stars go knocking, door after door after door

Michael J. Mishak, J. Patrick Coolican and David McGrath Schwartz

Monday, Dec. 17, 2007 | 7:07 a.m.

As the leading Democratic presidential campaigns hit the pavement over the weekend to convince and lock down supporters in the run-up to Nevada's third-in-the-nation caucus, the race took on a new sense of urgency - with perhaps no candidate feeling the pressure more than New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

In recent weeks Clinton has seen her considerable leads slip in Iowa and New Hampshire and narrow here, while her national campaign has suffered a series of embarrassing missteps.

At the same time, Obama has risen in the polls and his campaign brims with confidence. In short, the bubble of inevitability that had surrounded Clinton's candidacy for most of the year has burst, and her Nevada camp now seeks to strengthen its organization as the state's voters become more engaged in the campaign.

The Clinton campaign, nationally and in Nevada, has said it always expected a competitive race.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who has lagged behind his two rivals in building the type of precinct-level organization necessary to win a caucus, hopes to create 11th-hour momentum here with a victory Jan. 3 in Iowa.

Complicating matters for all three campaigns are decisions by two of Nevada's largest and most politically active labor unions to delay endorsements. Without the organizational muscle of the 60,000-member Culinary Union, for instance, the campaigns have been forced to rely on their own resources, building local political machines from scratch in a state that has never played a serious role in presidential politics. Voters in Nevada are not known for active participation in politics, the type of grass-roots activism that wins campaigns.

The Clinton campaign

Clinton's organization was on display Saturday at William E. Orr Middle School, where more than 600 Las Vegas-area precinct captains packed a gym for a caucus training and certification session. More than 1,200 were trained statewide Saturday, the campaign said. Those precinct leaders are the backbone of a caucus organization, charged with identifying supporters, recruiting volunteers and turning out caucusgoers.

In keeping with Clinton's role as the establishment candidate, her campaign rolled out some familiar names Saturday to rally support.

Among the speakers were Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid, state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The message: turnout, turnout, turnout.

Afterward, Villaraigosa, joined by Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen, D-Las Vegas, and Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, staged a made-for-media canvass of the surrounding neighborhood. (The campaign said more than 600 precinct captains signed up to canvass statewide and knocked on nearly 20,000 doors.)

The door-knocking by political celebrities caught some voters off guard, including Charles Walker, 67, a retired health care worker from Los Angeles.

After a brief chat about Clinton, Walker asked, "Who did you say you were again?"

"The mayor of Los Angeles," Villaraigosa said.

Walker gripped the mayor's hand and shook it vigorously, jumping up and down as he let out a yell.

After about five minutes, Walker was sold - either on Clinton or Villaraigosa. "I said I wasn't sure - but this crowd today has got my heart," he said. Walker took a yard sign, and, as Villaraigosa moved on, Giunchigliani stepped in with a pledge card.

Next up was another retiree, Maria Alvarez. Villaraigosa engaged her in Spanish and English - and Italian. She complained that her house was cold, that her power bill is expensive and then mentioned Yucca Mountain. Villaraigosa saw an opening. "Well, Sen. Clinton is with you on this," he said. Kihuen followed up. "All the signs and all this stuff doesn't mean anything unless you go caucus on Jan. 19," he said.

Giunchigliani promised help with the power bill, while Villaraigosa issued a pledge card and planted a yard sign. "Two for two," he said. They posed for a group photo.

Down the block, the trio - armed with a list of Democratic voters - knocked on a door for Nancy Terrell. Her husband, David, barely opened the door and said she was shopping. Villaraigosa still saw an opportunity, and asked what issues bother him most. Terrell said he cares about the deficit and its effect on the dollar. The two talked about the Iraq war and health care, but David said he was still undecided. Kihuen left him a pledge card.

As the group departed, Villaraigosa put his arm around Clinton volunteer Luis Lopez. "Make notes," he whispered. "So you'll know next time that we came by to visit in person and talked about health care and the deficit. That's how you'll win this thing."

The Obama campaign

For its part, the Obama campaign has developed a certain swagger. Longtime Nevada Democratic consultant and Obama adviser Billy Vassiliadis calls them "The Kids," the best field organization he's ever seen in Nevada politics. The youthful energy of the campaign is unmistakable. This weekend, 500 volunteers worked two shifts Saturday and one Sunday. By midday Sunday, they had knocked on 15,000 doors, leaving material where nobody was home and collecting 477 pledge cards. The campaigns use them to track strong supporters they can count on to show up on caucus day. The recipients of these visits already have received two phone calls, a handwritten postcard, an Obama DVD if they wanted one and this week they'll get a "personalized" letter from the candidate. This constant contact is a staple of caucus politics.

Although canvassers are generally told not to enter a house, the Obama team hopes to be invited inside and to engage the voter in conversation. These interactions, they believe, will produce deeper engagement and thus will more likely lead to caucus participation.

The campaign is targeting union-dense households in working-class and Hispanic neighborhoods.

Canvassing can be brutal: Witness Sunday's effort. At the first house, the door slammed shut. The next house was empty, save for a very mean dog trying to jump the fence. At the third house, Wanda Henry answered. Yes, I have all the information including the DVD, she said. She's still undecided, but Obama is still in the running. Oh, and she has a really big dog she calls a puppy, but the puppy doesn't like strangers. Puppies aside, the Obama people say it's invigorating to feel part of a movement.

The Edwards campaign

Edwards' campaign this weekend dispatched its largest wave of volunteers statewide, targeting undecided voters.

It's the first "hard sell" the Nevada campaign has done for Edwards, said Oliver Gottfried, the Nevada campaign director. About 250 union supporters and volunteers showed up at Edwards' campaign headquarters on Saturday. More than 400 canvassed statewide.

Field organizers offered volunteers some professional advice: Emphasize Edwards' health care plan. Point out Edwards' electability. And, on your way to the front door, do not walk on the lawn.

Besides about 100 carpenters and a number of steelworkers - including those bused in from California - were two true believers of Edwards' message of bringing change and fighting poverty, Steve Scott and Angelique Ruz.

Scott, 24, an urban studies student, interns at Las Vegas City Hall and tutors for the Clark County School District - two part-time jobs that leave him without health care but with his favorite campaign line:

"I'm supporting John Edwards because I want to go to the dentist."

Ruz, 27, works in health care and is getting her degree from UNLV for a career in social work.

In a tree-lined neighborhood near Flamingo and Sandhill, Scott and Ruz worked opposite sides of the street, knocking on doors that the campaign had identified as those of likely Democratic voters.

Many people weren't home, they grumbled. But some residents were open to a political chat.

Connie opened her door, small child and dog trying to peek out.

Her husband, she explained, is adamantly for Obama. She wants "anyone other than a Republican."

The big issue, Connie said, is health care.

Ruz said she is supporting Edwards for that reason.

She handed Connie a color-coded position paper on Edwards' health care plan (there are ones, too, for Iraq, worldwide poverty and the environment). Then Connie's pug dog, Squishy, tried to escape. Ruz helped contain the dog, hoping her effort might be kindly remembered.

Down the street, Scott was talking to Mary, a retired schoolteacher. Health care is her top issue, too. Her children and grandchildren don't have health insurance.

Scott started to explain the virtue of Edwards' plan when Mary politely interrupted.

"I'm pretty well up on him," she said. "He's definitely one of the three."

Scott marked it down: Another voter reached, and another undecided.

And the caucus is in five weeks.

archive