“Nevada’s presidential caucus helped us register tens of thousands of new Democrats, organize volunteers in precincts around the state and energize our party going into the general election,” said Nevada Democratic Party Chair Jill Derby.  “I’d like to thank all Nevadans who took part in this important process.  This caucus isn’t just about voicing our opinion in January, it’s about winning Nevada for our Democratic nominee in November.  With an unexpectedly large turnout like we had on Saturday, I’d say we’re well on the road to doing that.”

Nationally, pundits have raved that the state’s first competitive caucus yielded more than 100,000 Democrats.  Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker told the Las Vegas Sun that the Nevada caucus “will be a political event from now on.”  University of Nevada, Las Vegas political science professor David Damore told the Reno Gazette Journal that the huge turnout shatters the perception that Nevadans aren’t engaged politically.  “That myth is kind of gone.  They are vindicated.”
 

The huge turnout at Saturday’s Nevada caucuses show that Nevada Democrats are engaged in the process and ready to work to end eight years of a George Bush White House.

The turnout of more than 116,000 Nevada Democrats is more than double the highest estimates, and almost 75 percent of Nevadans who caucused yesterday voiced their support for a Democrat.  It is more than 12 times the turnout of 2004, when 9,000 Democrats attended the caucus.

Nevada Democratic Party Chair Jill Derby said she was proud of the turnout and of the many Nevadans who worked together to overcome the growing pains of putting on Nevada’s first competitive caucus, which almost 30 percent of registered Democrats attended.

“Saturday’s high turnout was a good problem to have, and we will use the lessons we learned to improve our caucus next time,” Derby said.

“This weekend, we put our state on the political map once and for all,” Derby said. “The Nevada caucuses reflected the ethnic and economic diversity of our state, with one estimate that 15 percent of participants were Hispanic and another 15 percent were African American.  Working families also turned out to give their perspective.  Sen. Harry Reid had the foresight to help bring the early caucus to Nevada, and now Democrats must work together to expand the infrastructure we built in the caucus to help elect a Democratic president in 2008.”
 

Searchlight, Nev. --  Nevada Senator Harry Reid issued the following statement in response to Saturday’s caucuses in Nevada:

“Today’s caucus was a tremendous success. Well over 100,000 Nevadans got out and made their voices heard, including 69 in my hometown of Searchlight. I congratulate the Nevada Democratic Party for doing such a great job and extend my sincere appreciation to all the staff and volunteers who made Nevada proud.”
 
 

(Las Vegas, NV) "The Nevada Democratic Party and its officials have taken great effort to maintain our neutrality in the presidential campaign and the integrity of our process. Today, two out of three Nevadans who caucused chose a Democrat instead of a Republican for president. That is an overwhelming majority vote for a new direction. Just like in Iowa, what was awarded today were delegates to the County Convention, of which Senator Clinton won the majority. No national convention delegates were awarded. That said, if the delegate preferences remain unchanged between now and April 2008, the calculations of national convention delegates being circulated by the Associated Press are correct. We look forward to our county and state conventions where we will choose the delegates for the nominee that Nevadans support."
 

Memo: Huge Victory in Nevada!
To: Interested Parties

From: Patti Solis-Doyle and Mark Penn

Date: Saturday, January 19, 2008

RE: Huge Victory in Nevada!

Today we won a huge victory by overcoming institutional hurdles and one of the worst negative ads in recent memory. This was a victory for all those who work hard and caucused on behalf of Hillary to revive our struggling economy.

The day after our victory in New Hampshire, the Culinary workers endorsed Senator Obama. The Chicago Tribune noted at the time that the endorsement gave Senator Obama a "significant advantage" because it is the largest and best organized labor group in the state. With nine caucus sites essentially set up for members of the Culinary union, it's no wonder why Jon Ralston, Nevada's leading political analyst, noted that the Culinary Workers' "impact is going to be significant."

In fact, the endorsement was so coveted that the Obama campaign's national field director, Temo Figueroa, said over the summer that "The Nevada election is going to come down to: Whoever gets the endorsement of the Culinary Workers Union, more than likely, is going to win Nevada."

Our campaign also received numerous reports of strong arm tactics designed to discourage our voters from caucusing and found itself on the receiving end of one of the most scurrilous smear efforts in recent memory.

Additionally, Senator Obama's allies spent tens of thousands of dollars on a radio ad to attack Senator Clinton's commitment to the Latino community. "Hillary Clinton does not respect our people," the ad said in Spanish. "Hillary Clinton is shameless."

And yet the exit polls are showing that the supporters of Hillary Clinton rejected these tactics. Exit polls show she won the union vote, won across all income groups and won heavily among those around Las Vegas, sweeping Clark County. The Latino vote backed Hillary by over 3 to 1, and Democrats voted for her by a wide margin.

Even among the hotel caucuses that were set up and worked extensively by the Culinary workers, Hillary competed closely or won in all of them.

So as we said yesterday, this was a test of whether the voters would win out through a process that gave significant institutional advantages to Hillary's opponent.

Today, Nevadans won and made their voices heard. 

from Obama for America
January 19, 2008

Statement from Barack Obama...

We’re proud of the campaign we ran in Nevada.  We came from over twenty-five points behind to win more national convention delegates than Hillary Clinton because we performed well all across the state, including rural areas where Democrats have traditionally struggled.  The reason is because tens of thousands of Nevadans came out to say that they’re tired of business-as-usual in Washington and ready for a President who can bring this country together, take on the lobbyists and special interests, and end the politics of saying and doing whatever it takes to win an election.  It is the kind of politics that feeds our cynicism and distracts us from taking on the real challenges facing America – an economy that’s left working families struggling, a broken health care system, and a war in Iraq that must end.

We ran an honest, uplifting campaign in Nevada that focused on the real problems Americans are facing, a campaign that appealed to people’s hopes instead of their fears.  That’s the campaign we’ll take to South Carolina and across America in the weeks to come, and that’s how we will truly bring about the change this country is hungry for.

Statement from Obama campaign manager David Plouffe...

We currently have reports of over 200 separate incidents of trouble at caucus sites, including doors being closed up to thirty minutes early, registration forms running out so people were turned away, and ID being requested and checked in a non-uniform fashion.  This is in addition to the Clinton campaign’s efforts to confuse voters and call into question the at-large caucus sites which clearly had an affect on turnout at these locations.  These kinds of Clinton campaign tactics were part of an entire week’s worth of false, divisive, attacks designed to mislead caucus-goers and discredit the caucus itself.

We will investigate all of these thoroughly and would encourage anyone who had concern about actions at the caucus sites to call (866) 675-2008.

PRESS RELEASE from John Edwards for President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2008

CONTACT:
Chapel Hill Press Office
919-636-3203

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – John Edwards for President campaign manager, former Congressman David Bonior, released the following statement about today’s Nevada caucus results.

“Congratulations to Senator Clinton for her win in Nevada.  Our campaign is very grateful to all those who demonstrated the loyalty and dedication to stand up for John Edwards in the face of very difficult circumstances and long odds, including our brothers and sisters in Nevada from the Carpenters, Steelworkers, Transport Workers, and Communications Workers of America.

“John Edwards is the underdog in this campaign, facing two $100 million candidates.  But that is nothing compared to the real underdogs in our country – working men and women, middle class families, and all those who have no voice in Washington.

“John Edwards is in this race to fight for the real underdogs and to make sure the voices of the American people are heard in Washington, not the special interests. That’s why he’s the only candidate in this race who has never taken a dime from PACs or Washington lobbyists; the only candidate who will ban corporate lobbyists from his White House; and the only candidate who is honest enough to say we are in a fight for our country and we need to take on the special interests if we are going to have a country that works for hard-working families and the middle class.

“The race to the nomination is a marathon and not a sprint, and we’re committed to making sure the voices of all the voters in the remaining 47 states are heard. The nomination won’t be decided by win-loss records, but by delegates, and we’re ready to fight for every delegate. Saving the middle class is going to be an epic battle, and that’s a fight John Edwards is ready for.”