Edwards Campaign Calls Nevada Race a Dead Heat

[bigtree]

January 14, 2008, 1:11 pm

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Edwards campaign characterized the Nevada race as a three-way dead heat in a conference call with reporters today, pointing to poll numbers and a robust field operation in the state.

Speaking from Nevada, David Bonior, the national campaign manager, said the Edwards campaign has contacted 15,000 potential caucus goers, roughly one-third of the overall expected turnout.

“This campaign is a three way race,” Mr. Bonior said. “And this is a huge sign of strength for John Edwards as we march into Nevada and South Carolina.”

Mr. Edwards has made 17 trips to the state, roughly the same as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama combined, Mr. Bonior added.

The poll by the Reno Gazette-Journal, released Monday morning, showed Mr. Obama with 32 percent, Mrs. Clinton with 30 percent and Mr. Edwards with 27 percent.

The Edwards campaign has played down Mr. Edwards’s losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, saying that he is prepared to continue campaigning through Super Tuesday and beyond even without winning a single state.

Hoping to show that the campaign is still looking ahead to Super Tuesday states, the campaign is planning a “fly-around” on Thursday and Friday, stopping in California, Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia, before returning to South Carolina to campaign before the primary on Jan. 26.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/edwards-campaign-calls-nevada-race-a-dead-heat/

[AzDar]

1. W00t!

Go, Johnny, GO!!

[LisaM]

2. Oh, I hope it's true!

That would be fantastic news.

[tritsofme]

3. I'm going to take any poll out of NV with a grain of salt.

Attempting to poll likely NV Dem caucus-goers seems like an exercises in futility.

[bigtree]

5. a Richardson endorsement would help

[demnan]

4. If Edwards wants to win

he should keep his campaign silent about the current war between Obama and Clinton. I believe he's getting a kick because of the fighting between those two.

But I'm neutral on the top three.

[GodlessBiker]

6. I think you are right. He should keep on message and ignore them.

[rocktivity]

7. Iowa was a three-way dead heat, too...

:eyes:
rocknation

[bigtree]

10. For the Blowhards Who Insist It's a Two-Way Race...

January 14, 2008 | 12:28 PM (EST)

--David Sirota, HuffPo

For those of you who think the Democratic presidential nomination fight is just a two-way race between Obama and Clinton, check out this brand new poll from the Reno Gazette-Journal. Yup, that's right - it shows the Nevada caucus race a three-way, dead heat with John Edwards right in the mix.

Interestingly, this poll comes right on the heels of the Establishment viciously ratcheting up its angry attacks on the Edwards candidacy. Late last week, we saw a Reuters story headlined "Corporate Elite Fear Candidate Edwards" detailing how Wall Street moneymen and K Street lobbyists are frightened about Edwards populist, power-challenging message against greed and corruption. We also saw self-anointed Democratic "expert" Lawrence O'Donnell pen a fulminating screed demanding Edwards get out of the race - not surprising coming from a man who made his name running the U.S. Senate Finance Committee - long the most corrupt, lobbyist-ravaged panel in all of Washington (somehow, running the U.S. Congress's version of a pay-to-play casino now makes people credile "experts" in campaign strategy and political morality).

According to the nonpartisan Project for Excellence in Journalism, Edwards has long faced a media blackout - one that at least some honest media brokers like Keith Olbermann have noted. As I said a long time ago, that Edwards has even been able to compete in such a hostile environment is a testament to the power of his message.

The question we should ask is what the hostility and media blackout is really all about? I'd say the media's behavior is motivated by the same impulses that moves lobbyists to whine and cry to Reuters and self-important bloviators like O'Donnell to publicly burst a blood vessel on the Huffington Post - the people who have gotten used to the status quo are truly terrified by any candidates who they really believe will change things and threaten their power and status. Edwards is just such a candidate - one who threatens to muck up what the media and political elite want to be a race between two "nonthreatening," Wall Street-approved candidates. Obviously, it's a three-way race at this very moment - whether the Establishment likes that or not.

Let me conclude by saying I have no idea if the Gazette-Journal poll is accurate and/or whether Edwards will win Nevada (or any other state). Unlike most reporters, I don't spend my time covering the horse race, nor judging the candidates' viability only on the grounds of how much corporate cash they've been able to vacuum in. I spend my time trying to figure out which of these candidates represent the most fundamental form of change. One of the ways to judge that is to see who these candidates make uncomfortable. And by that measure, here's what I know: Edwards is generating hostility from precisely the kinds of people who are likely to be most averse to real, systemic change. And that speaks very well for the former senator from North Carolina.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/for-the-blowhards-who-ins_b_81400.html

[rocktivity]

12. Thanks for the compliment!

The one thing I did do right going into Iowa was believe that it WAS a three-way race, and no one had a lock on it!

:bounce:
rocknation

[bigtree]

13. I was worried after I posted this that you would think I was calling you a blowhard

I'm a reckless political fool :hi:

[rocktivity]

15. dupe, sorry n/t

.

[Divine Discontent]

8. WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT!!!!

GO JOHN!!! Literally, as they said in the report I listed a few days back, polls show Edwards supporters are more vocal and active, and we're not going anywhere. PLEASE anyone in NV, please tell your Edwards supporters friend to show up, this can change a lot if he wins or finished strongly there!

[onehandle]

9. Great! Looking forward to the Nevada debate. nt

[itsrobert]

11. I'm hoping this is the case

Go John!

[jsamuel]

14. John Edwards almost tied for lead in NV - Obama 32, Clinton 30, Edwards 27 (MOE 4.5%)

http://www.rgj.com/blogs/inside-nevada-politics/2008/01/new-poll-democratic-race-in-nevada-dead.html

[midnight]

16. John we are with you. I hope that all the good people on

super Tuesday decide that you are the voice to represent you too.

[Wednesdays]

17. I'm liking this...if Edwards wins Nevada

or even does a strong second or third, he's back in the game.

:woohoo:

(As if he was ever out of the game to begin with.)