Presidential Candidates Are Seeping Into The Rocky Mountain West

By Greg Lemon, 10-29-07

Presidential campaigns are beginning to ramp up in the West. Last week, Hillary Clinton made her first appearance in Colorado and with Nevada’s early caucuses – Jan. 19 – political coverage is intensifying there as well.

Only one Republican candidate has officially opened up an office in the state – Ron Paul. The long-shot candidate raised an impressive $5 million in the last quarter and is now devoting staff and campaign infrastructure to Nevada, reports the Las Vegas Review Journal.

“Nevada is a key early primary state,” Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said. “It’s on everybody’s radar. We think Dr. Paul’s message of freedom plays extremely well in Nevada, and the nature of the caucuses means we can get our motivated people there and do well.”

The Review Journal also reports that Mitt Romney has staffers devoted to Nevada and is slated to open an office in the state soon.

However, no Republican candidate seems to have an edge in the state. Still, the GOP candidates are raising more money in Nevada than their Democratic counterparts. The Reno Gazette Journal reports that Republican candidates have raised about $1.8 million in the state, while Democratic candidates have solicited $1.1 million.

The reason could be the style of fundraising. The Review Journal reports that GOP candidates are choosing high-dollar fundraising events, while the Democrats are going more grassroots.

“Democrats are more in campaign mode while Republicans are still in fundraising mode,” said Robert Uithoven, a Reno political strategist who supports U.S. Sen. John McCain. “The Republicans are using their visits to fill those coffers so they can get their message out.”

The success in GOP fundraising in Nevada may have something to do with the Democratic candidates, particularly Clinton, suggests one Republican strategist in what may have been the quote of the week.

“Sen. Clinton has demonstrated her ability to raise money nationally,” said Greg Ferraro, a Reno Republican strategist, told the Review Journal. “The other side of that is that she has demonstrated her ability to raise money for Republicans, too.”

Speaking of Democratic candidates and the Rocky Mountain West, the Las Vegas Sun asked the four front-runners some region-specific questions. Bill Richardson gave some more insight into his moderate politics that could play well in the region.

When the Sun asked Clinton how she would appeal to Intermountain West voters she replied:

“I think there is a Western sensibility. One of the great things about America is that we have this extraordinary country, but we still have regional differences and sensibilities. The Intermountain West is much more open to Democrats than it has been in a while, and I believe we’ll be very competitive.”

Barack Obama had a more pragmatic answer to the same question:

“Westerners are less ideological than the politicians in Washington, less concerned about labels. They are more concerned with getting the job done, and that fits closely with how I approach issues — in a very practical way.”

While acknowledging as Governor of New Mexico, there would be pressure on him to do well in the region, Richardson responded:

“I cherish the rugged individualism of the West. It means you’re entrepreneurial. You’re for protecting the land, air and water. You’re libertarian on civil liberties. You want limited government in your daily life.”

Jon Edwards’ answer enforced what many national pundits have said about the region – voters are concerned with specific issues, but the big issues are national.

“The issues related to water and mining in rural Nevada are different from other parts of the country. But problems with health care, with what we should be doing about energy, getting off our addiction to oil, the war in Iraq — there is a variety of issues that connect strongly with the rest of the country.”

Clinton also showed up last week in Denver and again failed to address specific “Western” issues, reported the Denver Post.

“Clinton got local only once at her Denver rally, asking, ‘Why Germany gets more electricity from solar power than Colorado ... and why Denmark gets more electricity from wind than Nevada?’”

She did vow to restore America’s leadership around the world and strengthen the middle class.

In other Rocky Mountain political news, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso introduced the Wyoming Range Legacy Act of 2007, which would prohibit future oil and gas leasing on 1.2 million acres in the western part of the state, reported the Associated Press.

The legislation is supported by sportsmen, but criticized by the oil and gas industry.

“We’ve already got millions of acres that are tied up in wilderness and wilderness study areas, and this would just tie up even more,” Bruce Hinchey, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming told Casper Star Tribune.