Edwards looks for help in Nevada (Clinton's early lead in Nevada polls has evaporated)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/880975.html

Campaign touts poll that shows a close race with Clinton and Obama

Rob Christensen, Staff Writer

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards heads to Nevada today as a new poll suggests he is competitive in that state's Democratic presidential caucuses Saturday.

A survey by the Reno Gazette-Journal of likely caucus participants found Illinois Sen. Barack Obama leading with 32 percent, followed by New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at 30 percent and Edwards at 27 percent. The survey of 500 people was conducted Jan. 11-13. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

"We feel very good about where this is going," David Bonior, Edwards' campaign chairman, said Monday. "This campaign is a three-way race."

The Edwards campaign has 75 paid staffers in Nevada, many of them moved from Iowa, Bonior said. He said Edwards has made 17 trips to Nevada -- as many as Obama and Clinton combined.

Bonior played down last week's loss to Obama of the endorsement of the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union, which includes many hotel and casino workers. Edwards had courted the union, even hiring the union's former chief of staff for his campaign.

Bonior said Edwards has the support of unions representing 28,000 members in Nevada. He said help from union workers was one reason the Edwards campaign was able to contact 15,000 households over the weekend.

Although Clinton's early lead in Nevada polls has evaporated, Edwards is still a dark horse, said Erik Herzik, a political scientist at the University of Nevada-Reno.

FULL story at link.

[ladjf]

1. It would be great if Edwards showed well in Nevada.