Clinton Wins Nevada, Captures Hispanic Vote

LAS VEGAS — New York Sen. Hillary Clinton won the Nevada Democratic presidential caucus Saturday in a bruising contest with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama that included charges of political dirty tricks on both sides.

It was the second straight victory for the former first lady after a disappointing third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses earlier this month, and it sets the stage for a high stakes contest in the South Carolina Democratic primary

"I guess this is how the West was won," Clinton told cheering supporters at the Planet Hollywood Hotel on the Vegas Strip. And with a nod to the powerful union that backed Obama instead of her, she said, "We will all be united in November."

Obama, in a statement issued by his campaign, said he ran "an honest, uplifting campaign (in Nevada) that appealed to people's hopes instead of their fears." The statement did not offer congratulations to Clinton.

Despite losing the popular vote in the caucus, Obama claimed he had won the most national convention delegates, 13-12, under complicated party rules. But the Clinton campaign disputed that, noting that national convention delegates from Nevada would not be selected until April 19. And CNN reported that the caucus rules would result in a 14-14 delegate tie between Clinton and Obama.

Months ago, it looked like Clinton would coast to an easy victory in Nevada. At one point, she lead in polls here by as much as 25 percentage points. But Obama got the endorsement of the Culinary Workers Union earlier this month, the state's largest union, which he expected to push him over the top in the caucuses.

Even so, Clinton managed a 51-45 percent victory over Obama here Saturday, largely on the strength of her popularity among Hispanic voters, which make up a sizable portion of the rank-and-file members of the culinary union.

Entrance polls conducted by television networks found that while Obama carried the African American vote 79-16 percent over Clinton, Clinton carried the Hispanic vote 64-23 percent over Obama. She also carried white voters 52-34 percent.

The entrance polls also showed Clinton won female voters 52-35 percent and voters over 45 years of age, 54-33 percent. She lost younger voters to Obama, 48-34 percent.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who once counted on Nevada to elevate him from his third-place standing in the Democratic contest, got only 4 percent of the caucus vote Saturday.

While campaigning in Georgia on Saturday, Edwards vowed to continue his bid for the party's nomination. But while he finished second in Iowa, he has now twice finished a distant third behind Clinton and Obama and has little organization in South Carolina.

On the eve of the Nevada caucus, the Clinton camp complained that their backers in unions had been subjected to intimidation from union officials backing Obama. And the Obama camp complained that their supporters were the target of telephone calls that made repeated references to "Barack Hussein Obama."

Moreover, Clinton backers went to court in an unsuccessful attempt to block the special casino precincts, which were expected to favor Obama. And Clinton questioned Obama's commitment to stand against a Nevada nuclear waste site.

Unions backing Obama ran Spanish language ads saying Clinton was behind the court action against the precincts and that the senator "does not respect our people." And in the final days before the caucus, Obama mocked Clinton with a Vegas-style comedy routine.

Morever, during the caucuses, the Obama campaign distributed a memo to news organizations in which it accused the Clinton campaign of "engaging in deliberate voter suppression," willing to "say anything or do anything to win."

In the end, Clinton carried six of the nine special precincts in casinos and hotels along Las Vegas' famous Strip. And the voting there reflected the growing tensions between the Clinton and Obama camps.

Clinton supporters wore T-shirts saying, "I Support My Union. I support Hillary." And Obama supporters formed a gauntlet at the entrance of some caucuses, exchanging sometimes heated words with Clinton opponents.

"We've got differences," said Obama supporter Jose Alvarez, 44, a culinary union shop steward and room service waiter at the glitzy Bellagio hotel and casino. "But we're Democrats, and in the fall, we're going to be together."

Clinton and Obama both campaigned until the final hours before the caucuses began, both visiting some of the hotels to greet the hotel workers getting ready to participate in only the second presidential caucus — and the earliest ever — in the history of Nevada.