Associated Press

By Charlotte Hsu

Fri, Jan 11, 2008 (2 a.m.)

In front of a humble single-story home, not far from the Stratosphere, that houses New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign offices, some young men had little more to do than toss a football Thursday afternoon.

They were Richardson supporters, and their candidate had just bowed out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“This is what in the business they call ‘unemployment time,’” said Jon Wright, a full-time staffer who just that quickly was out of a job. “It can last for a week, it can last for three months.”

But with several candidates still in the running, the downtime for Richardson backers may not last long.

Javier Trujillo, political director of the governor’s Nevada campaign, said representatives of other contenders had already come calling, looking to poach seasoned staffers.

In the frantic world of electioneering, yesterday’s adversary can become tomorrow’s employer. So despite the somber mood at Richardson’s campaign headquarters Thursday, many workers already were looking ahead.

Wright, Trujillo and others said they planned to continue working in politics, whether for another presidential hopeful or for the Democratic Party.

Though they were committed to Richardson, they said, it is now vital that another qualified Democrat wins the presidency.

Richardson, a former congressman who also served as U.S. energy secretary and as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, had planned to spend a large chunk of the coming week stumping in Nevada despite placing fourth in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Still, his departure came as no surprise. Though the governor’s backers hoped he wouldn’t pull out, “we started to see the writing on the walls after Iowa,” said Bob Rodriguez, a retired high school teacher and bank examiner who in recent months has volunteered from two to 20 hours a week with the Richardson cause.

Rodriguez and Roberta Lange, Richardson’s state campaign director, were among supporters who expressed satisfaction in their work despite their candidate’s withdrawal.

“I don’t think we lost,” said Lange, who will get a bit of time to rest after months of working 15-hour days.

“I’m very proud to have been a part of this, sad that (Richardson) won’t be able to share his vision any longer, but happy that strands of his vision have become a part of other people’s visions,” Lange said, echoing the comments the governor made in a midday announcement.

In his exit speech, Richardson said views similar to his on Iraq (he advocates immediate withdrawal) and education (he wants to scrap the controversial No Child Left Behind law) have become mainstream among other major contenders.

The only Democratic aspirant from the West, he highlighted issues such as water use and Yucca Mountain more so than other candidates. A Hispanic, he brought diversity to the field of candidates, speaking in Spanish on some campaign stops.

State Sen. Maggie Carlton, who endorsed Richardson, said she doesn’t know whether she will endorse another candidate.

“I was really hoping and crossing my fingers that (Richardson) would go ahead and fight through Nevada,” said Carlton, a Culinary Union member.

“It’s kind of a time to sit back and take a deep breath and wait a couple of days and see what happens next,” said Carlton, D-Las Vegas. “Things happen so quickly.”

And because they do, many Richardson supporters may soon find themselves pushing for another candidate’s victory.

“The bottom line,” Trujillo said, “is we need to have a Democratic president.”

Around Trujillo on Thursday, Richardson workers were cleaning up their war room inside the house-turned-campaign headquarters on South Seventh Street. Papers, campaign signs, binder clips and other supplies littered the floor and tables.

The staffers had little use for the cans of Red Bull and packages of chicken-flavored instant noodles that made up the headquarters’ food supply.

So they packed up boxes and turned off the TV.

And looked to the next fight.