The Nevada Sagebrush

At 11 a.m. Saturday, on the fourth floor of the Joe Crowley Student Union, hundreds of Democrats and soon-to-be’s filed into registration lines and tried to figure out the caucus.

By 1:15 p.m., only a few stragglers and disheveled stacks of papers told people the story of how The Joe helped make history as a center for numerous precincts in the first early Nevada caucus.

At some of the precincts, more people showed to caucus than organizers had ballots to give them.

Though the state ultimately went to Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Washoe County firmly picked Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., with 48.8 percent of delegates.

Though the number of university students who caucused is impossible to tell, this close-to-the-university precinct saw a turnout of 20 percent of registered Democrats. Some political analysts said they didn’t expect a 10 percent turnout.

Statewide, more than 115,000 people caucused, compared to 9,000 in the 2004 Nevada caucuses.

But the impact of Nevada in the selection process is yet to be seen and “super-duper”Tuesday – when two dozen states caucus – is Feb. 5.

“It’s hard to tell — you want to think we’ll make a difference,”Mike Carter, a 22-year-old political science major said. “I like to think that it makes a difference.”

The precincts caucusing at The Joe surrounded the University of Nevada, Reno and many turnouts were students. And at the end of last semester, Obama’s student club outpaced Clinton’s by 174 members.

The caucus process – where candidate supporters try to sway the undecided and unviable groups – resembled a game show with cheering crowds when individuals joined a group. At precinct 4049, representing the area from Evans Avenue to Valley Road and McCarran Boulevard to Interstate 80, Obama and Clinton supporters – the only viable candidates at this precinct – politicked for the extra support.

Two Obama supporters and two Clinton supporters cornered a supporter of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and slung information at him.

One Clinton supporter said the former first lady’s defeat of Republican’s in the U.S. Senate race made her the most viable versus the GOP. The precinct captain for Obama said Kucinich told his supporters to shift to Obama’s camp if Kucinich isn’t viable.

(Kucinich’s wife refuted this Friday night – she told Kucinich supporters to do what ever they feel most comfortable with if they can’t make a viable group.)

Selena La Rue, an 18-year-old anthropology major, said, in a pre-Iowa speech, she had heard Kucinich support Obama.

“I know people probably thought I made that up,”she said.

But the Kucinich supporter ultimately moved into the Obama camp.

La Rue said the number of student caucus-goers surprised her.

“With the Obama campaign especially I feel like he’s energizing the youth,”she said. “I think we finally said enough is enough.”

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