STEVE INSKEEP, Host:
It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.
RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:
NPR's Scott Horsley reports from Las Vegas.
SCOTT HORSLEY: Nevada's Democratic caucuses are sure to attract a record turnout. But that's not saying much. Four years ago, fewer than 10,000 Democrats showed up, about two percent of those who are eligible. So candidates, like Barack Obama, know they're trying to appeal to a lot of first time caucus-goers.
INSKEEP: Now, let me just see a show of hands, how many people are definitely planning to caucus on Saturday?
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INSKEEP: Oh, that's good. That's good.
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INSKEEP: How many people - be honest - how many people are still undecided about who they're going to caucus for? Raise your hands. Okay. We've got some live ones here. There's one, yeah.
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INSKEEP: You are in our sights now. We're coming after you.
HORSLEY: Coming after these voters isn't all that easy in Nevada. Political scientist David Damore of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas says the state doesn't have a tradition of intense political involvement.
INSKEEP: It's a hard place to reach voters, I mean, it's a transient place, and the iconic places in Las Vegas is full of bunch of tourists. I mean, you're not going to spend your time there.
HORSLEY: So Damore says Democratic politicians have developed a formula: visit a union hall, walk through a neighborhood and hold a rally in a high school gym.
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HORSLEY: Desert Pines High School was the setting for Hillary Clinton's rally Tuesday in a working class neighborhood of Las Vegas.
INSKEEP: There are still a lot of people in the state who aren't quite sure what a caucus is. So you've got to get out and talk to as many people as possible: your friends, your family, your neighbors, and come to those caucuses on Saturday morning.
HORSLEY: Carla Jackson, who works as a maid at the MGM Grand Casino, is a precinct captain for Clinton.
MONTAGNE: She won my support every day. Ever since Bill was in there, I had them on my side. And all I need Ms. Hillary to do is get in there, show that she - be strong because we got her back all the way.
HORSLEY: Obama, meanwhile, is attracting some of the same kind of crossover support that helped him win in Iowa. Greg Wood(ph) showed up at an Obama town hall meeting in Henderson.
MONTAGNE: I thought it was very good. I'm a Republican, and I came in thinking I needed to vote for John McCain, but I think I've changed my mind.
HORSLEY: John Edwards also hopes to make a strong showing in Nevada, where one newspaper poll shows a tight three-way race. Edwards stuck to another part of Professor Damore's formula last night speaking at the headquarters of the Carpenters Union in Las Vegas.
MONTAGNE: I'm so proud to be in this union hall and to stand with the men and women of organized labor who help build the middle class in this country and who are going to help reestablish the middle class in America when I'm president of the United States.
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HORSLEY: Nevada's caucuses will also be an early test of Latino voting power in a state that's one-quarter Hispanic. Latino leader Ruben Kihuen, who's a member of the state legislature, was heavily courted by all the Democrats. He ultimately endorsed Clinton, but says the close contest with Obama and Edwards has been healthy.
MONTAGNE: Regardless of who ends up getting the nomination, I think this is all good for the party. You know, there's people being energized that have never been energized before.
HORSLEY: Scott Horsley, NPR News, Las Vegas.
MONTAGNE: For a guide to what's at stake for the candidates in the Nevada caucuses and the issues on voters' minds, go to npr.org/elections.