Reids think Bill Clinton has enough charm for both

By Delen Goldberg

Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010 | 2 a.m.

Expect to see Bill Clinton in Las Vegas often in the coming weeks.

It’s not the food or fun. It’s the problem of two Reids running for election.

Clinton supports both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid. But their handlers have determined that the candidates can’t be in the same room at the same time, and Clinton can’t stump for both in one stop.

That means lots of frequent flier miles for the former president.

“They are two different candidates,” said Eric Herzik, a political scientist at UNR. “They ... have two different types of messages and constituencies to which they have to appeal. This is not one where you want a two for one.”

Clinton made his most recent stop in Nevada on Wednesday to drum up support for Democrat Rory Reid, who has trailed Republican Brian Sandoval in the polls since the race for governor began. Clinton held a rally at Mandalay Bay during which he urged about 1,300 supporters to campaign for Reid and hosted a $5,000-a-head fundraiser that netted Reid almost a quarter-million dollars.

Reid hopes the former president’s charm and enduring popularity with his party will help turn the tide in the governor’s race. Running on his record as Clark County commissioner hasn’t worked, nor has releasing detailed plans to address the state’s economic woes. Even campaign stunts have fallen flat.

Now, Reid is going for star appeal. Clinton twice won Nevada while running for president.

Although there’s no doubt Clinton can draw a crowd, it’s unclear whether his visit will tilt the polls toward the younger Reid, political observers said.

“Bill Clinton can maybe help you with some people who were lukewarm about you,” Herzik said. “But it’s absolutely not a game changer. Rory Reid has got to win it himself.”

In fact, most of the crowd gathered at the House of Blues were solid Reid supporters. That fact wasn’t lost on Clinton, who urged the group to volunteer for phone banks or go door to door to broaden Reid’s base.

“Coming to a rally is not enough,” Clinton said. “You’ve got to talk to people.”

It’s not surprising that Clinton would stump for Reid. He was Hillary Clinton’s state campaign chairman during her 2008 presidential run. Reid took an unusually active role in that campaign, his first on the national stage, locking up key endorsements and calling many of the campaign’s strategic shots in the state.

She won a convincing popular-vote victory in Nevada, taking a majority of the at-large caucus sites.

As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton can’t lobby for candidates. But Wednesday’s events were the second round of campaigning Bill Clinton has done for Reid. He hosted a fundraiser in October, shortly after Reid announced he would run for governor.

“He’s a very popular man,” Reid said. “He’s done the job I want very well. It’s good to have President Clinton fire up the troops.”

The former president will be back in Las Vegas next month to headline an event for Harry Reid. Clinton hosted a rally in June for the elder Reid, although the senator was in Washington at the time.

Clinton’s speech for Rory Reid mirrored his June speech for Harry Reid. In both, Clinton blamed Republicans for the financial crises, reminded the party faithful of the prosperity and budget surpluses that accompanied his presidency and urged people not to vote out of anger. Clinton even told the same Justin Wilson joke about a Cajun man with a cigar.

During his speech Wednesday for Rory Reid, Clinton never once mentioned Harry Reid or even the U.S. Senate. That wasn’t an oversight. The dual Reid campaigns would not have allowed the father and son to be lumped together for fear that animosity toward one would bring the other down.

Remember, Rory Reid just recently started using his last name.

And just like the different visits, different campaigns and different constituencies, political scientists expect different results from Clinton’s endorsement of each Reid. Political scientists expect it to benefit the Senate majority leader far more than his son.

“Rory doesn’t have the base as united. He’s losing nonpartisan voters. He’s even losing some Democrats,” Herzik said. “Harry Reid just needs his base, and Bill Clinton can rally the Democratic base like no other.”