Monday, Mar. 19, 2007
Nevada's Up Second
Worried that lily-white Iowa and New Hampshire weren't diverse enough to play such a critical role in picking the party's presidential nominee, Democrats put Nevada's caucuses on Jan. 19, 2008, right after Iowa and before New Hampshire. Democrats in the Granite State are irritated about being supplanted as the second state to vote, but other party officials hope they can turn Nevada blue in 2008, particularly since it won't be one of the early states on the G.O.P.'s primary calendar. The new schedule will also involve Hispanics, who make up 17% of the electorate in Nevada, from the get-go. But the first test for the contenders will be on pronunciation: the natives (and soon-to-be voters) say Nuh-vaah-da, not Ne-va-da.