Nevada, now early in '08 calendar, needs Caucus 101

The DJ spins the Jackson 5's "Sugar Daddy" as grown-ups get out of their chairs to line up behind their favorite candy. Some head for Snickers, others gravitate toward Milky Way.

No, the National Confectioners Association convention hasn't rolled into Vegas. This is a mock caucus – a "mockus" – designed to educate voters, with candy as the substitute for honey-tongued presidential candidates.

How to caucus isn't well known in the Silver State because in past presidential elections Nevada voted too late to matter in the nomination process. Not this year: The state will caucus Jan. 19, just after Iowa and New Hampshire hold their contests.

Whether Nevada finds its voice in national politics as the representative of the high-growth, heavily Hispanic, Intermountain West depends on the ability of party and campaign organizers to teach voters and volunteers that a caucus is no quick trip to the voting booth.

"It's a huge education challenge, [and] I suspect to some degree the campaigns themselves may not have thought just how hard this really is," says David Redlawsk, professor of political science at the University of Iowa. "With 40 years of [caucus] experience in Iowa, say what you will, folks understand how it works."

The same is not true in Nevada, where only 9,000 voters caucused in 2004 – up dramatically from past contests that drew less than a rodeo in Pahrump. Since then the state grew 10 percent, welcoming another quarter million people – often young or retired and uprooted from the kind of community connections that foster political engagement.

Figuring out who the likely voters will be is trickier than usual for pollsters. On the Republican side, a poll released Dec. 7 by the American Research Group found Mitt Romney with 29 percent, Mike Huckabee with 23 percent, and Rudolph Giuliani with 17 percent.

On the Democratic side, American Research Group has Hillary Rodham Clinton with 45 percent, Barack Obama takes 18 percent, and John Edwards garners 14 percent. Another poll, however, from Mason-Dixon found Mr. Obama closing the gap to within eight points of Mrs. Clinton.

In a Las Vegas living room, a dozen neighbors have gathered to hear volunteers from Clinton's campaign tout the Democratic candidate and explain the caucus. Ryan Williams stands in front of a flip chart that reads, "#1 show up, #2 stand with Team HRC, #3 be counted" but it isn't long before he's interrupted by several questioners suddenly realizing that there won't be a ballot with Hillary's name on it.

"I would never have known, and that to me is scary," says Crystal Solis, sitting on one of the sofas. She didn't believe caucus organizers would reach people in Las Vegas without putting a message up in lights. "I work with [lots] of people every day. But nobody knows this. Where is your billboard?"

The political parties don't have a ton of money for advertising. The Republicans have a caucus budget of $500,000, most of which will be spent in the week before the Nevada contests. The Democrats have spent a quarter of their $2 million caucus budget on fliers and ads.

But a lot of work has gone into public training sessions. The Nevada Democratic Party has run more than 500 mock caucuses; the GOP has hosted hundreds more. Campaigns have also included caucus 101 lessons in their outreach efforts and grooming of precinct captains.

At these meetings residents also learn that they will be assigned a caucus location based on where they live. It could be a school, a church, or, this being Vegas, a casino on the Strip.

"I wouldn't have taken this job if it wasn't a challenge to overcome, and the challenge we have is making sure everyone understands the caucus," says Jayson Sime, Nevada Democratic caucus director and former field director for the 2004 Iowa Democratic caucus.

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