From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008
Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008
Nevada Democratic Caucus, 2008 Nevada’s 25 "pledged" delegates to the Democratic
National Convention were chosen on May 17, 2008, when
the Nevada Democratic Party held its State Conven-
tion.[3] Barack Obama ended up receiving 14 national del-
2004 ← 2008-01-19)
January 19, 2008 (2008-01-19) → 2012 egates compared to Hillary Rodham Clinton who re-
ceived 11 national delegates. However, Clinton did ulti-
mately prevail in terms of the number of votes received
during the Nevada Democratic Caucus. It was the only
state that held a caucus that she won during the course
of the Democratic Presidential Primary.
Process
The Nevada Democratic Caucus was open to all voters
who would be 18 by November 4, 2008, regardless of par-
ty affiliation. Republicans, unaffiliated voters, and mem-
bers of other parties could change their registration at
Nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton Barack Obama the door, and new voters could register as well.[4]
Party Democratic Democratic As with all Democratic caucuses, voters gathered into
preference groups for each candidate. A minimum
Home state New York Illinois
threshold of 15 percent was required in each precinct
Popular vote 5,459 4,844 in order to achieve viability. If a candidate’s preference
group was not vialbe, they chose to caucus with another
Percentage 50.8% 45.1%
group, or be uncommitted. Unlike the Iowa Caucus,
"raiding" of other, already viable caucus groups, was pro-
hibited.[5] Delegates to the county convention were then
selected amongst the candidate groups. A similar process
occurred at the county convention. Although they file
statements of support for their chosen candidate, all del-
egates are technically unbound until the state conven-
tion.
In addition to the 1,754 neighborhood caucus loca-
tions, nine at-large caucus locations were available for
shift workers who could not return to their home
precincts to caucus. These at-large precincts were at the
Wynn, Bellagio, The Mirage, Paris Las Vegas, New York-
New York, Flamingo, Caesars Palace, and The Rio, all lo-
cated in Clark County.[6] Workers who worked within 2.5
miles (4.0 km) of the caucus site, were scheduled to work
during or within one hour of the caucus period, and those
who had an employer ID showing their employment in
the zone were permitted to attend. Unlike regular cau-
The Nevada Democratic Presidential Caucuses took place cuses where delegates are apportioned based on regis-
on January 19, 2008[1] after having been moved from a tered voters, the at-large locations were allocated based
later date by the Nevada Democratic Party.[2] The Nevada on attendance, which caused controversy (see below).[7]
Democratic Caucus was considered important in deter- The Nevada Democratic Party reported county con-
mining the eventual party nominee, as many described vention delegate totals to the media and not actual votes,
it as the "Bellwether of the West" seeing as how it is the similar to the way the Iowa Democratic Party did in its
first Western state to vote in the Democratic Presidential caucus.
Primary season.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008
Pre-Caucus Events, Predictions,
and Polls
Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the January
Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2008#Nevada
The date of the Nevada Democratic Caucuses were moved
from a later date to January 19, 2008. Analysts from CNN
believe that this occurred because of many factors, such
as the growing West, a large Hispanic population, a heav-
ily unionized work force, the influence of Senate Major-
ity Leader Harry Reid, and the idea that earlier caucus-
es increased voter participation. In addition, Democrats
in the working class hold sway over liberal activists; this
would allow candidates to discuss practical issues and An "at-large precinct" is officiated in Caesars Palace on elec-
policy details.[8] tion day.
After Barack Obama’s win in the Iowa Democratic
Caucuses and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s surprise come-
fact that it was filed two days after the Culinary Workers
back win at the New Hampshire Democratic Primary, the
Union Local 226 endorsed Obama and that several of the
Nevada Democratic Caucuses were seen as a potential
State Education Association’s leaders endorsed Clinton
tie-breaker. A victory in the Nevada Democratic Caucus
led some political commentators to describe it as a proxy
would provide a candidate with momentum heading into
battle between the two campaigns.[13]
Super Tuesday. In addition, the Nevada Democratic Cau-
After a court hearing, Judge James Mahan of the U.S
cuses were seen as a test of the organizing abilities of
District Court for Nevada ruled that the caucus locations
its unions and the growing influence of the state’s Latino
were fair and valid and disagreed with the group’s argu-
community, which makes up more than 20 percent of the
ment. Therefore, the nine caucus sites located in casinos
population.[9]
in Las Vegas were allowed to operate.[14]
On January 9, 2008, Obama received his first key na-
tional labor endorsement from leaders of the
450,000-member UNITE HERE union. This endorsement Results
was made on behalf of Nevada’s largest union, the See also: Results of the 2008 Democratic Party presiden-
60,000-member Culinary Workers Union, Local 226.[10] As tial primaries
a result, Obama received a huge boost in support from Hillary Rodham Clinton won the most local delegates
the Latino population.[8] while Barack Obama was projected to win the most del-
A pre-caucus opinion poll conducted by the Las Vegas egates to the Democratic National Convention. Nevada’s
Review-Journal on January 18, 2008, showed that Hillary delegates to the Democratic National Convention (DNC)
Rodham Clinton was leading with 41 percent of the vote. were not allocated to the candidates for a few months, so
Barack Obama had 32 percent of the vote, and John Ed- current DNC delegate projections assumed that local and
wards had 14 percent.[9] Another poll by the American state delegate preferences remained the same through
Research Group five days before the caucuses on January the county conventions, which occurred in February, and
14, 2008, showed that Clinton was leading with 35 per- the state convention, which occurred in April,[15] The
cent, Obama had 32 percent, and Edwards at 25 per- reason for the so-called "split-decision"[16] is Nevada’s
cent.[11] These polls only showed the results of the top- chosen method of electing DNC delegates. Six distinct
tier candidates who were viable to win the caucuses. sets of pledged DNC delegates were elected in April. The
three sets determined exclusively by Clark County dele-
Casino Caucus Lawsuit gates were split evenly for a total of six for Obama and
In an attempt to block nine at-large caucus precincts six for Clinton. The statewide pot was split five for Clin-
from being held on the Las Vegas Strip, the Nevada State ton and four for Obama. Obama’s advantage was due to
Education Association and six Las Vegas area residents his strength in Northern Nevada, particularly of Washoe
filed a 13-page lawsuit on January 11, 2008. The at-large County’s three DNC delegates Obama received two as well
sites were created to facilitate the caucus participation as the one "rural" DNC delegate who backed Obama as
of casino workers, and others working within 2.5 miles well.
(4.0 km) of the Strip, but the plaintiffs said that these Unlike in Iowa, the Nevada Democratic Party reports
sites would both elect more state delegates than others only the number of county convention delegates won
and violate state election law.[12] While the suit was not statewide by supporters of the candidates (in Iowa "state
officially supported by any presidential campaign, the delegate equivalents" are reported). In neither Iowa nor
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008
Barack Oba- 4,844 45.09% 13
ma
Hillary Clin- 5,459 50.82% 12
ton
John Edwards 399 3.71% 0
Dennis 5 0.05% 0
Kucinich
Mike Gravel 0 0.00% 0
Write-in can- 1 0.01% 0
didate
Uncommitted 34 0.32% 0
Totals 10,742 100.00% 25
County conventions
All of Nevada’s county conventions took place on Fe-
bruary 23, but one county’s convention (Clark County)
had attendance that overwhelmed its ability to continue.
That convention was therefore recessed to April 12.[24]
Convention dates: February 23–April 12, 2008
National pledged delegates determined: 0 (of 25)
25] 26]
Nevada Democratic county conventions, 2008[25][26]
Candidate State Percentage Estimated nation-
delegates 27]
al delegates[27]
Barack 1,645 48.91% 13
County by county results. Dark blue counties were won by Obama
Barack Obama, light blue counties were won by Hillary Clinton.
Hillary 1,718 51.09% 12
Clinton
Nevada are individual voter preferences reported. And
like Iowa, all local delegates selected in the January 19 Totals 3,363 100.00% 25
caucuses are technically free to support any candidate
during later stages of the nominating process.[17] [18] State convention
At the controversial At-Large caucuses on the Vegas Convention date: May 17, 2008
Strip, many workers who belonged to unions other than National pledged delegates determined: 25 (of 25)
Local 226 attended; contrary to the statements of Pres-
Nevada Democratic state convention, 2008
ident Bill Clinton leading up to the vote,[19] all workers
on shift within 2.5 miles (4.0 km) were permitted to cau- Candidate Votes Percentage National dele-
cus.[20] Clinton supporters won the Strip, 268 local del-
28]
gates[28]
egates to 224.[20] Widely publicized statements by Presi- Barack Oba- 1,365 55.04% 14
dent Clinton that voters in "casinos" would have at least ma
5 times the influence of other voters[19] turned out to be Hillary Clin- 1,112 44.84% 11
incorrect; Strip voters had only twice the influence that ton
voters in the rest of the state on average had.[21]
Totals 2,480 100.00% 25
Precinct caucuses
Convention date: January 19, 2008 See also
National pledged delegates determined: 0 (of 25) • Democratic Party (United States) presidential
22]
Nevada Democratic precinct caucuses, 2008[22] primaries, 2008
Candidate County Percentage Estimated na- • Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008
delegates tional dele-
23]
gates[23]
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008
References [16] Clinton and Obama Win Nevada
[17] Obama Wins Most Nevada Delegates
[1] "Nevada Caucus: Information Directory". [18] "Election Center 2008: Primary Results - Elections
http://thenevadacaucus.com/index.php. & Politics news from CNN.com". CNN.
[2] "Yucca Mountain prominent if Nevada Caucus http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/
moved up". July 25, 2006. http://thehill.com/ primaries/results/state/#NV. Retrieved
leading-the-news/yucca-mountain-prominent-if- 2010-05-20.
nevada-caucus-is-moved-up-2006-07-25.html. [19] ^ Falcone, Michael (2008-01-17). "A Feisty Bill
[3] Milligan, Susan (2008-01-20). "Long battle still Clinton Defends Nevada Lawsuit". The New York
ahead for top Democrats: Contest could extend Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/
beyond Super Tuesday". The Boston Globe. 01/17/a-feisty-bill-clinton-defends-nevada-
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/ lawsuit/. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
2008/01/20/ [20] ^ The Field » Nevada: What Really Happened at the
long_battle_still_ahead_for_top_democrats/. At-Large Caucuses?
[4] NVdems Caucus - FAQ’s [21] Daily Kos: What Really Happened at Nevada’s At-
[5] http://www.nvdemscaucus.com/images/ Large Caucuses
draftdelselupdated_oct2007l.pdf, p. 10 [22] "Nevada Democratic Party Caucus Results". Nevada
[6] Dems assign delegates for at-large precincts | Democratic Party. 2008-01-23.
Nevada Appeal | Serving Carson City, Nevada http://www.nvdems08.com/. Retrieved
[7] http://www.nvdemscaucus.com/images/ 2008-01-23.
draftdelselupdated_oct2007l.pdf, p. 55 [23] Berg-Andersson, Richard (2008-02-29). "Nevada
[8] ^ "Nevada: Election Center 2008". CNNPolitics.com. Democrat Presidential Nominating Process". The
2008. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/ Green Papers. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/
states/nevada.html. Retrieved 2008-01-19. P08/NV-D.phtml. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
[9] ^ Goldenberg, Suzanne (2008-01-19). "Clinton and [24] Coolican, J. Patrick; Michael Mishak (2008-02-24).
Obama seek to break deadlock in Nevada". Guardian "Convention Ends in Chaos, So Dems Need a Do-
Unlimited (London: Guardian News and Media over". Las Vegas Sun.
Limited). http://www.guardian.co.uk/ http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/feb/24/
uselections08/story/0,,2243520,00.html. Retrieved convention-ends-chaos-so-dems-need-do-over/.
2008-01-19. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
[10] The Associated Press (2008-01-09). "Obama gains [25] "Nevada Democratic Party County Convention
key labor backing in Nevada". msnbc.com Results". Nevada Democratic Party.
(Microsoft). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/ http://www.nvdems.com/images/
22575934/. Retrieved 2008-01-19. county%20convention%20results.pdf. Retrieved
[11] "Pollster.com". January 14, 2008. 2008-03-10.
http://www.pollster.com/08-NV-Dem-Pres- [26] "Clark County Delegate Event Results". Nevada
Primary.php. Democratic Party. 2008-04-12. Archived from the
[12] Friess, Steve (2008-01-12). "Teachers Sue to Block original on 2008-04-16. http://web.archive.org/
Hotel Workers’ Union Vote in Nevada Caucus". The web/20080416215101/http://www.nvdems.com/
New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/ go/homepage-rotate/clark-county-delegate-event-
01/12/us/politics/12nevada.html?ref=politics. results/. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
Retrieved 2008-01-17. [27] "Clinton still wins Clark County, but Obama gains a
[13] Friess, Steve (2008-01-17). "Judge Allows Vegas bit in do-over". Los Angeles Times. 2008-04-13.
Caucus Sites on the Strip". The New York Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/ nevada13apr13,1,6672145.story. Retrieved
judge-allows-vegas-caucus-sites-on-the-strip/. 2010-05-20.
Retrieved 2008-01-17. [28] http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080517/
[14] "Court allows casino vote that may boost Obama". ap_on_el_pr/democrats_delegates_3
Reuters. 2008-01-17. http://www.reuters.com/
article/topNews/idUSN1553481720080117.
Retrieved 2008-01-17.
External links
[15] The Washington Post. • Nevada Democratic Party
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/ • Official website
clinton_won_or_did_she.html. • Real-time Results
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nevada_Democratic_caucuses,_2008&oldid=472659832"
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008
Categories:
• United States Democratic presidential primaries, 2008
• Nevada elections, 2008
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