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 After routing Clinton in New Hampshire and finishing a strong
second in Iowa, states with nearly all-white populations, Nevada's
Democratic caucuses give Sanders his first chance to prove he can
win over black and Hispanic voters and compete nationally as the
race moves to states with more diverse populations.
Republicans in South Carolina also vote on Saturday in the
state-by-state contest to pick nominees for the Nov. 8 election,
with opinion polls showing front-runner Donald Trump trying to
solidify his spot at the top of the pack and rivals Ted Cruz and
Marco Rubio fighting for a second-place finish.
Behind them, Republican candidates Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Ben
Carson could be vying in South Carolina to keep their campaigns
alive before the presidential race rapidly picks up steam in March
when dozens of states hold nominating contests.
The long day of voting begins in South Carolina, where polls open
for Republicans at 7 a.m. EST and close at 7 p.m. EST. Nevada's
Democratic caucuses will begin at 2 p.m. EST, with results expected
to begin rolling in a few hours later.
Public opinion polling has been scarce in Nevada, where Latinos and
African-Americans made up nearly one-third of the Democratic
electorate in 2008 and are expected to account for more this time. A
few recent surveys show a tight race, however.
Clinton's campaign has argued she would assert control of the
Democratic race once it moved to more diverse states with black and
Hispanic populations who have traditionally backed Clinton and have
been slow to warm to Sanders.
But a Sanders win in Nevada would shatter that perception, fueling
new questions about Clinton's strength in a campaign that was once
considered a cakewalk for her. It would also raise the stakes for
the next contest, in South Carolina on Feb. 27.
A Clinton win, however, would halt the momentum Sanders has
generated from his 22-point defeat of Clinton in New Hampshire and
position her to begin rolling up wins and delegates in South
Carolina and on "Super Tuesday" on March 1.
COURTING HISPANICS
Both campaigns aggressively courted Hispanics in Nevada, bulking up
Latino and bilingual staff members, locating offices in Hispanic
neighborhoods, launching bilingual phone banks and Spanish-language
caucus training, and inviting Hispanic celebrities to help spread
the word.
"We have to build a culturally competent campaign," said Jorge Neri,
Clinton's Nevada organizing director.
For Clinton, that cultural competence sometimes could be found in
small details - like the fact that "house party" does not translate
well in Spanish. The Clinton campaign used the word "cafecito"
instead to describe a potluck type event where people gather and
talk politics.
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The Clinton campaign also built a strong text message list,
reflecting the fact many Latinos primarily or only access the
Internet by their phones.
The Sanders campaign also targeted Latinos. At a phone bank event on
Wednesday, volunteers chatted in Spanish and English to persuade
them to turn out for Sanders. Mexican-American actor and television
personality Marco Antonio Regil made calls for Sanders.
"Bernie, he gets me," he said, in-between phone conversations. "We
have gone so much to the right that we need someone who brings us a
little bit to the left."
Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, is a self-described democratic
socialist who has criticized Clinton's ties to Wall Street and
generated enthusiasm among young voters with his call for breaking
up the big banks and reducing income inequality.
Clinton has said Sanders's emphasis on an anti-Wall Street agenda
made him a one-issue candidate, and has questioned whether his
proposals are politically viable in a gridlocked Washington.
On the Repubican side, front-runner Trump created some last-minute
drama in South Carolina after Pope Francis said on Thursday his
views on U.S. immigration were "not Christian." Trump initially
called Francis "disgraceful," but later called him "a wonderful
guy."
The Vatican later clarified the pope's remarks, saying they were "in
no way" a personal attack and were not an indication how to vote.
Trump also called for a boycott of Apple Inc products until the tech
company agreed to help the U.S. government unlock the cellphone of
one of the killers in last year's San Bernadino, California,
shooting.
(Reporting by Luciana Lopez and Steve Holland; Writing by John
Whitesides; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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