Democrats Rendezvous in ‘Paris’

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Democrats Rendezvous in ‘Paris’

By Jeff Zeleny

Tonight, after the Democratic presidential hopefuls leave the stage at their debate in Las Vegas, they have another destination on their evening itinerary: Paris.

The Paris Hotel, that is.

All of the candidates have agreed to attend a Clark County Democratic gala, the Jefferson Jackson Dinner. (Less than one week after the candidates appeared at a similar dinner in Iowa, shall we call this: “JJ: The West Coast Edition?”)

If there were any lingering questions about the relevance of the Nevada caucuses on Jan. 19, tonight’s dinner could settle them. No candidate was willing to bypass the event, where the crowd was expected to contain 80 percent of the precinct captains and other local organizers.

“Either we’re going to be the tie-breaker or the circuit breaker,” John Holt, the chairman of the Clark County Democratic Party, said in a telephone interview last night. “For us, this is a historic night.”

While Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina have received the lion’s share of the spotlight among early-voting Democratic states, Mr. Holt said Nevada is content with its role. The attention has been less than many had hoped – including Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, who pushed for his state to be included in the lineup – but far more than any previous election.

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http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/democrats-rendezvous-in-paris/