Nevada's Hispanics could add twist to '08 politics

[Judi Lynn]

Nevada's Hispanics could add twist to '08 politics
POSTED: 7:23 p.m. EST, February 16, 2007


LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- The road to the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination has a new stop between the Iowa caucuses and the nation's first primary in New Hampshire -- the Nevada caucuses on January 19, 2008.

Like in Iowa and New Hampshire, local Democrats say retail politics will dominate the race in Nevada -- but with a decidedly different look and flavor.

"You have to go to the swap meets and shake people's hands," said state Rep. Ruben Kihuen. "You have to go out to the rodeos and shake people's hands."

Kihuen, a Mexican-born member of the Nevada Legislature, is a young Democrat eager for his state to start a tradition in presidential politics.

To visit Kihuen's district is to see obvious signs of what makes this contest so different from the traditional opening contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. Nevada's Hispanic population is nearly 23 percent, compared to 3.5 percent in Iowa and 2 percent in New Hampshire.
(snip/...)

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/16/nv.hispanics/index.html

[skipos]

1. And this makes Richardson interesting too

(though I don't know if he will be my 1st pick yet)

Richardson would easily win NM, but it would be interesting to see if he connects with purple states with a greater hispanic population, like NV, FL or CO.

If Kerry would have gotten 12% more of the hispanic vote in NV, he would have won the state.

[Lobster Martini]

2. Not unless something changes

These are the results of polls taken over the past three months:

Iowa
Clinton: 35%
Obama: 14%
Edwards: 18%
Richardson: 1%

New Hampshire
Clinton: 39%
Obama: 19%
Edwards: 13%
Richardson: 2%

Nevada
Clinton: 37%
Obama: 12%
Edwards: 8%
Richardson: 1%

This data is seriously flawed. The polls weren't done at the same time, John Kerry was included in the Nevada poll but not in the Iowa or New Hampshire polls, all three states had a substantial number of undecided voters, and then there's the Gore wild card. But even if these percentages aren't exactly right, at least for the time being, it looks like Nevada's voters don't differ significantly from the voters in Iowa or New Hampshire.

(Source: http://americanresearchgroup.com/)