Harry Reid is being targeted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Washington (CNN) – Republicans on Monday were quick to pounce on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, for comparing the battle over health care to the battle over the legacy of slavery.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee purchased a Web ad on the popular Drudge Report asking readers: "Do you agree with Harry Reid?"

Those who click on the ad are taken to an NRSC Web site called "Health Care Task Force," which asks readers to sign a petition and "stand up to Harry Reid and his insulting remarks."

Reid, who is in danger of losing his re-election bid next year, made the remarks Monday morning on the floor of the Senate.

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all Republicans can come up with is this: slow down, stop everything, let's start over," Reid said.

"If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said slow down, it's too early, let's wait, things aren't bad enough."

Harry Reid is being targeted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Washington (CNN) – Republicans on Monday were quick to pounce on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, for comparing the battle over health care to the battle over the legacy of slavery.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee purchased a Web ad on the popular Drudge Report asking readers: "Do you agree with Harry Reid?"

Those who click on the ad are taken to an NRSC Web site called "Health Care Task Force," which asks readers to sign a petition and "stand up to Harry Reid and his insulting remarks."

Reid, who is in danger of losing his re-election bid next year, made the remarks Monday morning on the floor of the Senate.

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all Republicans can come up with is this: slow down, stop everything, let's start over," Reid said.

"If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said slow down, it's too early, let's wait, things aren't bad enough."

Harry Reid has a disapproval rating in Nevada of 50 percent.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – When it comes to questions about his sagging poll numbers, Sen. Harry Reid has a simple response: Everything is fine.

At a press conference on Capitol Hill Thursday, the Senate Majority Leader was asked if he's willing to risk his political career to carry the Democrats' often contentious agenda through Congress.

"I don't answer hypothetical questions," Reid answered, grinning.

"Everything is going well in Nevada," he continued. "We have an economy that is very difficult in Nevada and we all know that. But it's going to get better there."

Reid said that realtors in Las Vegas told him last week that they see signs of economic recovery, and the senator noted that hotels in the resort city remain full on weekends. "We're doing fine," he said.

The Democratic leader said his poll numbers are also "fine," even though a recent poll shows his disapproval rating in his home state at 50 percent. The poll, Mason-Dixon survey commissioned by the Las Vegas Review Journal last week, showed Reid would lose his re-election bid next year in hypothetical match-ups against two potential Republican challengers.

"All my polling numbers are fine," he said. "They are not from a newspaper in Nevada that you guys tend to focus on. All my polling numbers are fine. And I'm continuing to do the best I can for the people of this country and the people of Nevada."

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid won't be the only member of his family facing Nevada's voters in 2010 now that his son is officially joining the state's gubernatorial campaign.

Rory Reid, 47, will kick off his campaign for Nevada's top job at a rally in Las Vegas on Wednesday evening. Currently serving his second term as Commissioner for Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, the younger Reid says he expects to make the election one about ideas and policies, not his family ties.

"Nobody has asked me who my father is. I think people want to go back to work. They want to know they have a secure future here in our state," Reid recently told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The senior Reid is already facing a tough re-election campaign, with recent polls showing him lagging behind several potential Republican opponents. A Mason-Dixon poll released Tuesday indicated just 38 percent of Nevadans approve of the senator's job performance, while 50 percent disapprove.

A spokesman for the Republican Governors Association said the GOP was delighted by news of Rory Reid's candidacy.

"Harry Reid doesn't do many favors for Republicans, but we could not have asked for a better present than having two Reids on the ballot instead of just one," RGA's Mike Schrimpf said in a Wednesday statement. Reid's candidacy is expected to clear the Democratic field so that he can focus on the general election, while Nevada's embattled Republican governor, Jim Gibbons, faces a likely primary challenge

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is up for re-election in 2010.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid might be trailing two Republican challengers in polls surveying the 2010 landscape in Nevada, but he's also one of the better-funded candidates in the country.

Reid's campaign announced a substantial third quarter fundraising haul on Tuesday, reporting more than $2 million raised over the last three months. Even more impressive: the Democrat has collected over $12 million for his campaign, and can boast of $8.73 million in the bank - all with more than a year to go until Election Day.

The Reid camp is pledging to raise $25 million for his re-election bid, as polling indicates a tough road ahead for the Senate leader.

Reid trails Nevada GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden, 49 percent to 39 percent, according to a Mason-Dixon poll commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and released Sunday. Reid is also losing by a 48-43 margin in a hypothetical race against another leading candidate for the Republican Senate nomination, businessman Danny Tarkanian.

In more bad news for Reid: Nearly 100 percent of Nevada voters know who Reid is, and 50 percent of them hold an unfavorable view of the Democrat. Just 38 percent have a favorable opinion.

Palin's father is hitting the campaign trail.

(CNN) – Watch out Harry Reid: Sarah Palin's dad is coming to Nevada.

Chuck Heath will travel from Alaska to Nevada on October 2 to spend the weekend campaigning with Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian, one of the many Republicans hoping to unseat the Senate Majority Leader next November.

The retired science teacher is scheduled to make five stops across Nevada with Tarkanian, the son of legendary college basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian. He is considered to be one of the frontrunners for the GOP nomination along with Nevada GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden, if she decides to formally enter the race.

Heath certainly won't bring out the kind of crowds that showed up to see his daughter during the presidential race, but he'll likely draw some of the Republican faithful eager to catch of
glimpse of anything Palin-related.

Asked if Heath's appearance means that Palin is supporting Tarkanian in the primary, Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton told CNN that no formal endorsement has been made.

But Stapleton, via e-mail, relayed the news that Palin "loves 'Tark the Shark'" - the elder Tarkanian's nickname from his coaching days. She added that "the Governor is rooting for Senator Harry Reid's defeat."

It's not the first time Heath has hit the road to help a Republican candidate: In August, Heath traveled to his native Idaho to stump for Republican congressional candidate Vaughn Ward. Heath told the Idaho Statesman at the time that he was already planning an appearance with Tarkanian, but that he needed to delay his plans.

"He wanted to do it right away, but I gotta go moose hunting in September," Heath told the paper in August.

Stapleton said the two men met on the campaign trail last fall and that "the Heaths and Tarkanians obviously share love of conservative politics and sports."

Danny Tarkanian, pictured in this 1998 file photo with his father in the background, is currently the frontrunner in a crowded GOP field in Nevada's 2010 Senate race.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Danny Tarkanian sailed into Washington this week on a wave of polling data that indicates he - and other Republican Senate prospects - could defeat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid next year.

Reid is a top target for national Republicans in 2010 - but the GOP faces a big problem: it has not settled on a candidate to challenge the Democratic leader. The GOP's best prospect, Rep. Dean Heller, took a pass on the race.

Now, Tarkanian is one of several Republicans who have either declared their candidacies or are eyeing a challenge to Reid in 2010. As the son of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, the younger Tarkanian has immediate name recognition in the state - and is the frontrunner, at least for now, in a crowded GOP primary field.

The real estate entrepreneur described himself as a "fiscal and social conservative" during a visit to CNN Wednesday, painting Reid as out of touch with Nevada voters. He echoed national Republicans on ideas to reduce the cost of health care, such as tort reform and insurance portability; said the way to revive the economy is to invest in the private sector; and said that the United States needs to stay in Afghanistan to finish the job.

While Tarkanian did not embrace disgraced Sen. John Ensign and embattled Gov. Jim Gibbons, he stated that it would not be right to "turn your back" or "shun" the two highest-ranking Republicans in the state. But, he said, both are "separate from my race."

Reid - who watched the GOP defeat his friend and former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in 2004 - has made it clear in fundraising pitches and private conversations that he is ready for 2010. Reid has $7 million in the bank, and his campaign said the plan is to raise $25 million to make sure he wins a fifth term. A Reid spokesman dismissed Tarkanian's visit and the criticism directed at the majority leader.

"He is one of a dozen Republican candidates filed to run against Sen. Reid," said Reid spokesman Jon Summers. "They have the next year to work through their primary. In the meantime, Sen. Reid is going to keep working to improve the state's economy, help keep people in their homes and create jobs by making Nevada the leader in clean energy."

Tarkanian may lose his frontrunner status once former Nevada Republican Party Chair Sue Lowden formally declares her candidacy, says Nevada political expert Jon Ralston.

"She has a much better profile to beat Harry Reid," Ralston said. "She has to be seen as the favorite in the primary."

The logical way to win the primary is to get more voters to the polls - in which case, Tarkanian's challenge starts on the home front. His mother, Lois, is a Democrat on the Las Vegas City Council. And while Tarkanian assured me that his mother plans to vote for him in the general election, he wasn't counting on her help in nabbing the nomination: "I'm trying to switch her over to vote for me in the primary."

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter @prestoncnn

'They want to make us a socialist state,' Johnny Burwell told CNN.

ELY, Nevada (CNN) - Hundreds of people turned out for a series of weekend events as the Tea Party Express cruised across northern Nevada.

The caravan of tour buses, RVs, cargo trucks and SUVs kicked off a cross-country tour Friday in Sacramento, California, and plans on holding events in 33 cities en route to Washington, D.C. for what organizers hope will be a big rally on September 12.

The tour is being funded by Our Country Deserves Better, a conservative political action committee.

The tea party movement gained momentum this year; several parties were held across the country this summer to protest President Barack Obama and the Democrats' economic stimulus plans, among other things.

On July 4, nearly 2,000 advocates, toting signs and chanting slogans, rallied outside Congress. Activists said the TEA Party Day - an acronym for "Taxed Enough Already" - was in response to runaway government spending. But now, the focus is on health care reform, an issue that has brought about demand for bigger, more encompassing debate throughout the country and in Congress.

At an event Saturday in Winnemucca, Nevada, Carolyn Rowe came to the tea party in a T-shirt depicting Obama as the joker from "Batman." In place of the familiar "Hope" logo of Obama's campaign was the word "Joke."

She says she is concerned about the number of so-called "czars" in the Obama administration and she fears losing her choice of doctor if health care reform passes.

"I believe he's trouncing the Constitution and taking control of our country in a direction we don't want," says Rowe, from beneath a wide brimmed straw hat. "I think he has a hidden agenda, and I think he doesn't tell the truth and that in itself bothers me."

Husband-and-wife team Barbara and Pete Jones drove up from Reno, Nevada. Barbara's red T-shirt said "Impeach Everyone," but she said Obama is first on her list.

What is her main concern?

"Socialism," she says.

Husband Pete elaborates, "They're spending too much money. Were going into debt spending money on things we don't need, bailing out companies that should have failed."

The Joneses, who are in their 60s, have never been what they call "protesting people" before, but they think the tea party movement is picking up speed and they are happy to be spending their Saturday afternoon out the blazing midday sun of the Winners Casino parking lot. They even made a sign that reads, "Don't borrow, tax and spend our children's future."

"Were the sleeping giant that has been awaken," she says, "We're the silent majority that is no longer silent."

Mike Bryant nods in agreement with Barbara Jones. He attended Friday night's Tea Party In Sparks, Nevada, and drove up to Winnemucca for Saturday's event.

"I think a lot of people are just waking up and getting active. People are reading and educating themselves," he says, "I think too many of us that have been working, busy raising families and haven't been involved."

He has been to tea parties in the past and thinks the protesters have gotten a bum rap in the media.

"I think were not an unruly mob, I think most of us are just average citizens and were trying to make a difference, trying to make our feelings known."

Later Saturday the tour arrives at a park in Elko, Nevada, where Johnny Burwell minces no words. His sign (and just about everyone has a sign) reads, "I will not be a socialist." He holds it up between the tines of a pitchfork.

"They want to make us a socialist state." He says, "I got a good life I don't want em messing it up."

But the crowd of several hundred in Elko has some surprise attendees: Obama supporters. Four of them.

Nora Hatfield and her three pals voted for Obama and support the president now. They are parked near the back on folding chairs.

"I wanted to know why they don't support health care, why they don't support the issues that are important to this administration," Hatfield says. "The way you learn these things is by listening to what other people have to say."

After hearing the speakers from the Tea Party Express, she is unsatisfied.

"What I have heard today has all totally been negative." She says, "Nobody has given me a solution."

Sunday morning, the Tea Party Express rolled into Ely, Nevada, where about 100 partiers were waiting for the caravan. More T-shirts, more signs and more newly minted activists.

Next stop: Las Vegas.

A new poll suggests that only three in ten Nevada voters hold a favorable opinion of Senator John Ensign.

(CNN) - A new poll suggests that only three in ten Nevada voters hold a favorable opinion of Senator John Ensign, although most don't want Ensign to resign in the wake of his confession of an extra marital affair with a former staffer. But when the poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon for the Las Vegas Journal Review, asked whether Ensign should run for re-election, less than half the respondents said they would like to see his name on the ballot again when his current term expires.

The poll indicates that 31 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Nevada's junior senator, down eight points from June survey taken immediately after Ensign's admission, and down 22 points from May.

Ensign announced on June 16 that he had had a nine-month extramarital affair with a woman who worked on his campaign staff. Ensign said the relationship ended last August. The woman's husband worked in Ensign's Senate office.

"The Mason-Dixon poll indicates that the circumstances surrounding the affair, rather than the affair itself, are what bother Nevada voters," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Only three in ten say that the fact that Ensign had an affair is a very serious matter. But twice as many feel that way when told that the affair was with his wife's best friend, and half feel the same when told that the woman in question was the wife of a top Senate aide."

"Nevadans also seem bothered by the disconnect between Ensign's behavior and the image he presented to the public before the affair was public knowledge," Holland adds. "The poll asked respondents to react to this statement: "Ensign had an affair although he is a member of the family values group Promise Keepers." Fifty-eight percent of Nevadans say that they view that very seriously."
Ensign has stated that he has no intention of resigning his seat and says he will run for re-election in 2012. Those plans are getting mixed reviews from his constituents.

Fifty four percent of those questioned say they don't think Ensign should resign - still a majority but down from 62 percent last month. But running again is another matter. Forty-five percent say that Ensign should seek re-election; 43 percent say he should not.

"That's not good news for Ensign," Holland says. "An incumbent is usually considered to be in trouble if a question on re-election doesn't get support from at least 50 percent of his constituents. It looks like a lot of Nevada voters are OK with the idea of Ensign finishing out his term as long as he calls it quits after that."

Ensign's faced mounting pressure following revelations earlier this month that parents paid the family of his former mistress close to $100,000 after she was no longer working for the senator. A lawyer for Ensign said the payments were legally made as "gifts, accepted as gifts and complied with tax rules governing gifts."

The Mason Dixon/Las Vegas Journal Review poll was conducted July 14-15, with 400 Nevada voters questioned by telephone. The survey sampling error is plus or minus five percentage points.

Obama's state director in Nevada died of heart attack Sunday.

(CNN) - Barack Obama said Monday he was "shocked and saddened" to learn of the recent death of one of his top campaign aides in the crucial battleground state of Nevada.

Terrence Tolbert, the Nevada state director of the Obama campaign and a former top aide to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, died of a sudden heart attack in Las Vegas on Sunday. He was 44 years old.

“Terence was a strong force in this campaign, with a positive outlook that brought people together," Obama said in a statement. "He was much loved by his team, who often repeated his motto of 'leave no stone unturned.' His enthusiasm, talent, and warm heart will truly be missed. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Obama-Biden family are with his wife and loved ones."

In a Monday statement, Bloomberg called Tolbert, "one of the most hardworking people in the world."

Tolbert was on a temporary leave from his position as a lobbyist in Albany, New York on behalf of New York City's public schools.

Watch Nevada's Secretary of State talk about early voting.

(CNN) - For some voters, early voting is smooth sailing.  Watch CNN's Tony Harris as he chats with Ross Miller, Nevada's Secretary of State, and his state's appraoch to early voting.

New gains for Obama on the CNN Electoral Map.

(CNN) - If Barack Obama is betting on Nevada, he may find a pleasant payoff. A new poll suggests that the Democratic presidential candidate is widening his lead there.

That's contributing to an increase in territory for Obama in CNN's Electoral College Map. The map estimates what would occur if the election were held today, by reviewing state polls, voting trends, campaign visits and advertising.

In the Nevada survey - one of five CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corporation state polls released Thursday morning - 52 percent of likely voters say Obama is their choice for president, with 45 percent backing John McCain. That seven-point lead is up from a five-point advantage Obama held in a poll taken one week ago.

Nevada narrowly voted for George W. Bush in the last two presidential contests.

"Obama is racking up support among blue collar voters in Nevada," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Two weeks ago, he had a six-point lead among people with no college degree. Now he has a 23-point lead over McCain among that group. If the unions are making a big push for Obama in Nevada, it seems to be working."

The new numbers in Nevada, along with similar findings from other new polls in the state, are factors that led CNN to move Nevada and its five electoral votes from a "toss-up" state to "lean Obama" in its new Electoral College Map.

With that change, CNN estimates that if the election were held today, Obama would win 291 electoral votes compared with 163 for McCain; another 84 electoral votes are up for grabs.

A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

On Wednesday, CNN switched Colorado and its nine electoral votes from "toss up" to "lean Obama," thanks to a number of new polls, including a CNN/Time/ORC poll that suggests Obama has an eight-point lead in Colorado.

CNN also changed Indiana, which has 11 electoral votes, from "lean McCain" to "toss up." A new CNN Poll of Polls suggests McCain holds a two-point lead over Obama in Indiana, which hasn't voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since 1964.

The Poll of Polls is an average of the latest state surveys.

The state of Washington was also moved from "lean Obama" to "safe Obama," though that move doesn't change the electoral count.

With the prospect of losing some of the states that President Bush won four years ago, McCain, R-Arizona, has his eyes on Pennsylvania and its 21 electoral votes.

McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and surrogates are spending a lot of time campaigning in the state. McCain hopes to become the first Republican presidential candidate to win the state since 1988.

A new poll, however, suggests that McCain's efforts may not be paying off.

Fifty-five percent of likely voters in Pennsylvania say they are backing Senator Obama, D-Illinois, with 43 percent supporting McCain. That 12-point lead for Obama is up from a nine-point advantage he held in CNN's last poll in the state, conducted last month.

"Pennsylvania is the keystone to McCain's electoral college strategy, but he faces a tough task," said Holland. "Obama has an edge in Philadelphia, of course, but also in the Philly suburbs, and he's ahead by six points in the western part of the state."

Another state McCain needs to keep in the Republican camp is Ohio, where 20 electoral votes are up for grabs. The new poll indicates Obama holds a small four-point lead, 51 percent to 47 percent. Both campaigns are spending a lot of time and money in Ohio in this last week before the election.

It's a simliar story in North Carolina, which last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976, when Jimmy Carter was running. A new poll suggests Obama has a six-point lead over McCain, 52 percent to 46 percent.

Obama was up by four points in our last poll, conducted last week.

"Other polls are showing North Carolina is essentially tied, but our poll shows Obama picking up support among younger voters and the blue-collar segment. Those are two reasons the race in North Carolina has gone from a 49-49 tie in early October to a 52-46 edge for Obama, at least in our results," Holland said.

The poll indicates McCain holds a small lead in his home state of Arizona - 53 percent to 46 percent. Another poll released this week suggests the race is closer in Arizona, which McCain has represented in Congress for 26 years.

The poll was also expanded to include the major third party candidates, Independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney.

None of them are polling over 3 percent in any of the states surveyed, and none seem to be a factor in the outcome of the results in those five states - other than Ohio, where Nader's 3 percent showing could have an impact.

The CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted Thursday through Tuesday. It surveyed 807 likely voters in Arizona, 684 likely voters in Nevada, 667 likely voters in North Carolina, 779 likely voters in Ohio, and 768 likely voters in Pennsylvania.

The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points in Arizona, Ohio and Pennsylvania and plus or minus 4 percentage points in Nevada and North Carolina.

Obama: McCain really stuck it to Bush - 10 percent of the time.

RENO, Nevada (CNN) - Democrat Barack Obama levied more criticism at opponent John McCain Saturday, mocking the Arizona Republican by saying McCain is just "trying to break with his president over the last ten days after having supported him for the last eight years."

"He denounced the President for letting things get completely out of hand–that's what he said," Obama told a crowd in Reno. "In fact, John McCain is so opposed to George Bush's policies, that he voted with him 90 percent of the time for the first eight years. That's right, he decided to really stick it to George Bush – 10 percent of the time."

"So, let's be clear. John McCain attacking George Bush for his out-of-hand economic policy is like Dick Cheney attacking George Bush for his go-it-alone foreign policy. What Joe Biden says – it's like Tonto getting mad at the Lone Ranger."

Though, to be clear, Obama's running mate Joe Biden never actually said that publicly. Biden has, however, made similar references using Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

The Illinois senator is spending the day out west. In addition to Reno's event, he's also holding a rally in Las Vegas, as well as one in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Gov. Palin appealed to women voters in Nevada Tuesday.

HENDERSON, Nevada (CNN) - Flanked by a quintet of former Hillary Clinton supporters, Sarah Palin on Tuesday made her most direct appeal to female voters since kicking off her vice presidential campaign in August.

With polls showing Palin's unfavorable ratings among women rising over the last month, the Alaska governor looked to tap into any lingering tensions left over from the drawn-out Democratic primary battle - a fight that left many Clinton supporters disappointed.

"Our opponents think that they have the women's vote all locked up, which is a little presumptuous," Palin said. "Little presumptuous, since only our side has a woman on the ticket."

"You've got to ask yourself, why was Senator Hillary Clinton not even vetted by the Obama campaign? Why did it take 24 years, an entire generation from the time Geraldine Ferraro made her pioneering bid, until the next time that a woman was asked to join a national ticket?"

Palin spoke glowingly of Clinton in the early days of her campaign, but mentions of the New York senator elicited boos from her heavily-Republican crowds. She soon dropped the references from her stump speech.

On Tuesday, the Republican vice presidential nominee continued to attack Obama's tax plan, arguing that his plan to raise takes on wealthier Americans will stifle the earning power of working women.

"Women want the same opportunities as men," she said. "And they're entitled to the same rewards. See, the point here, the point here is that women would suffer just as much from the massive tax increase that Senator Obama proposes."

Palin knocked Obama for supporting equal pay on the campaign trail while paying his female senate staffers, on average, lower salaries than the men in his office. Female staffers in Obama's Senate office earn 83 cents to every dollar earned by male staffers, while McCain's female Senate staffers, on average, earn more.

"Does he think that the women aren't working as hard?," Palin asked. "Does he think that they are 17 percent less productive?"

The statistics cited by Palin, however, do not account for the fact that McCain's office currently has more women in higher-paying senior positions than does Obama's office, thereby driving up the average female salary among McCain staffers. The Obama team has said the situation is a different on the Democrat's presidential campaign, where many of his top advisors are women.

The governor was joined onstage by former Clinton supporters Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Prameela Bartholomeusz, Linda Klinge, Shelly Mandel and Elaine Lafferty, all of whom applauded as Palin criticized Obama.

Sen. Obama is ahead in four states and nationally in Wednesday's CNN polls of polls.

(CNN) – CNN’s latest polls of polls show Barack Obama leading John McCain in Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida - but slipping slightly nationally and in Florida, losing one point in each.

In CNN’s first Nevada poll of polls, Obama leads McCain by 3 percentage points. The Illinois senator has the support of 49 percent of likely voters in Nevada, while 46 percent support the Arizona senator. Five percent of likely voters in Nevada are unsure about their choice for president.

In CNN’s latest Ohio poll of polls, Obama has increased his advantage over McCain. In Ohio, Obama is now ahead of McCain by five percentage points with support from 50 percent of likely voters in the state compared to support from 45 percent for McCain. Five percent of likely voters in the state are unsure about who they prefer. In CNN’s September 21 Ohio poll of polls, Obama was ahead of McCain by a single point – 47 percent versus 46 percent.

In Pennsylvania, Obama has also increased his advantage. CNN’s October 3 Pennsylvania poll of polls showed Obama ahead by 10 percentage points – 51 percent versus 41 percent. In the new Pennsylvania poll of polls released Tuesday, Obama is ahead by 12 points. The Democratic nominee has the support of 52 percent of likely voters in Pennsylvania, while the Republican nominee has the support of 40 percent of likely voters. In Pennsylvania. Eight percent of likely voters are unsure about their choice for president.

Nationally, Obama leads McCain by four points in CNN’s latest national poll of polls. Forty-eight percent of voters support Obama while 44 percent support McCain; 8 percent of voters aren’t sure about who they support. In CNN’s October 7 national poll of polls, Obama was ahead by 5 percentage points – 49 percent for Obama and 44 percent for McCain.

Obama has also lost a point in CNN's latest Florida poll of polls. Forty-nine percent of likely voters in Florida support Obama, 45 percent support McCain, and 6 percent are unsure about who they support for president. In CNN's October 2 Florida poll of polls Obama was ahead of McCain by five points - 49 percent to Obama's 44 percent.

CNN’s national poll of polls is composed of the following five surveys: American Research Group (September 4-6), Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby (September 4-6), NBC/Wall Street Journal (October 4-5), Gallup (October 5-7), and Diageo/Hotline (October 5-7).

CNN’s Nevada poll of polls is composed of three surveys: Research 2000 (October 3-6), CNN/Time/ORC (September 28-30) and ARG (September 27-29); CNN’s Ohio poll of polls is composed of three surveys: CNN/Time/ORC (October 3-6), ABC/Washington Post (October 3-5) and Quinnipiac (September 27-29); CNN’s Pennsylvania poll of polls is composed of three surveys: Morning Call/Muhlenberg College (October 3-7), WHYY/West Chester University (October 3-6) and Quinnipiac (September 27-29); and CNN's Florida poll of polls is composed of four surveys: Mason-Dixon (October 4-6), CNN/Time/ORC (September 28-30), Suffolk (September 27-30) and Quinnipiac (September 27-29).

CNN’s polls of polls do not have sampling errors.

Officials from the State of Nevada served a search warrant Tuesday on the Las Vegas office of ACORN.

(CNN) – Nevada state officials served a search warrant on the Las Vegas office of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now Tuesday.

The search was “the result of an ongoing investigation into allegations of voter registration fraud,” according to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office.

“There are allegations that a number of registration applications were completed with false information, and other applications on which attempted to register the same person multiple times,” Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller said in a statement, adding that the office had “been told some of allegedly erroneous applications even included the names of players from the Dallas Cowboys football team.”

ACORN denied any intentional wrongdoing on the organization’s part. “When we have identified suspicious applications, we have separated them out and flagged them for election officials,” Interim Chief Organizer Bertha Lewis said in a statement released after the raid. “We have zero tolerance for fraudulent registrations. We immediately dismiss employees we suspect of
submitting fraudulent registrations.”

Listen: ACORN, Project Vote on Tuesday's raid

The group’s Southwest regional director, Matthew Henderson, told reporters any errors on the forms were unintentional. “There were some people that, you know, probably sat down on a couch and filled out names out of a phone book,” he said. “And so, when we talk about fraud, that’s really what we’re talking about here. Not an attempt to steal an election. We’re talking about an attempt for someone to get out of doing some real hard work.” Henderson also said that ACORN’s canvassers are paid by the hour, and not per registration, as some of its critics had alleged.

In partnership with Project Vote, ACORN recently completed a voter registration drive in 21 states. The groups said 1.3 million people were registered during the joint voter drive. They also said approximately 80,000 new voters were registered in Clark County, Nevada, where Las Vegas is located.

Obama is up in new CNN polls.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) – New polls in five crucial battleground states that could decide the race for the White House suggest Barack Obama is making some major gains.

CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls released Wednesday afternoon of likely voters in Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia suggest a shift towards the Democratic presidential nominee.

In Florida, the state that decided it all in the 2000 presidential election, 51 percent of likely voters say Obama is their choice for president, with 47 percent backing Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The last CNN poll taken in Florida showed the race for the state's 27 electoral votes all tied at 48 percent apiece, among registered voters. A new CNN Poll of Polls in Florida, also out Wednesday afternoon, has Obama over McCain by 5 points. The CNN Poll of Polls is an average of the new CNN poll and other new state polls.

"The campaign season is like the hurricane season. Florida lies directly in its path. Hurricane Obama hit Florida, and Hurricane McCain. Tropical Storms Biden and Palin made landfall in the Sunshine State. The impact? Over the last two weeks, Barack Obama has been gaining support in Florida," says CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

Obama's also making gains over McCain in Minnesota, the state where the Republican convention was held a month ago. Fifty-four percent of those questioned are backing Obama, with 43 percent supporting McCain. That 11 point lead is much larger than the small two point advantage Obama had in the last CNN poll taken in Minnesota, one month ago.

It's a similar story in Missouri, where 49 percent of those polled are backing Obama and 48 percent supporting McCain. That's a gain for Obama, who was down five points to McCain in our last poll in Missouri, taken three weeks ago. Thursday's night's Vice Presidential debate is being held in St. Louis, Missouri. The only other new poll in Missouri, a Research 2000 survey, indicates McCain ahead by one point.

The poll also indicates Obama has a four point lead over McCain in Nevada, 51 percent to 47 percent. CNN's last survey in Nevada, taken in late August, had McCain up slightly. A new American Research Group poll in Nevada puts McCain ahead by two points.

In Virginia, a state that hasn't voted for the Democrats in a presidential contest since 1964, the new poll suggests Obama has a nine point lead, 53 percent to 44 percent. The last CNN survey in Virginia, taken in mid September, had McCain up by four points. But it's a slightly different story in American Research Group's new survey in Virginia, which indicates McCann has a three point lead.

What's behind this shift for Obama?

"Obama has gained ground among moderates in all five states," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "That may have something to do with the first presidential debate. Some commentators knocked Obama for agreeing with McCain as often as he did, but moderates tend to like it when candidates appear willing to see the other side's point of view.

"In most states, Obama also won support from senior citizens and voters making more than $75,000. Those are two groups who may have been hardest-hit by the recent problems in the stock market and the financial community. Economic jitters may not last if Congress passes legislation in the next few days, but there may have been short-term gains for Obama as a result of the current economic problems," added Holland.

When factored in, the new CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls are behind a shift in the CNN Electoral College Map. CNN is moving Minnesota, and its 10 electoral votes, from toss up to lean Obama. Missouri, with 11 electoral votes up for grabs, is shifting from lean McCain to toss up. With those moves, CNN estimates that if the presidential election were held today, Obama would win states with 250 electoral votes and McCain states with 189 electoral votes, with 99 electoral votes in states still up for grabs. Two-hundred and seventy electoral votes are needed to win the White House. Obama has a 61 electoral vote advantage over McCain, up from a 40 point lead in our previous electoral map.

The poll also expanded to include three third party candidates, Independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian candidate Bob Barr and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney. Except for a 3 percent showing by Nader in Florida and a 4 percent showing by Nader in Nevada, no one registered more than two percent in any survey.

The CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls were conducted September 28-30, with 940 registered voters and 770 likely votes in Florida, 929 registered voters and 849 likely voters in Minnesota, 951 registered voters and 744 likely voters in Missouri, 924 registered voters and 684 likely voters in Nevada, and 925 registered voters and 684 likely voters in Virginia all questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points in Florida, Minnesota and Missouri, and 4 percentage points in Nevada and Virginia.

Edwards said Sunday he's in it for the long haul.

(CNN) - After a crushing loss in Nevada's Democratic caucuses Saturday, presidential candidate John Edwards said Sunday that he hopes "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

Edwards placed a distant third in the vote, with just 4 percent of the vote, behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

“I got my butt kicked. That is what happened in Nevada,” the former North Carolina senator told Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s Late Edition. “And the job for me now is - I have learned this from my whole life experience, is when you get knocked down, you have got to get up. You have got to get up and start fighting again…

“I would kind of like to go back to the old Las Vegas saying, though. You know, ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’? I hope that turns out to be true in this case.”

Instead of campaigning in Nevada in the days before Saturday’s vote, Edwards focused instead on stumping in his birth state of South Carolina, where he won the 2004 primary.

Edwards is running a distant third in the state in most recent surveys, behind Obama and Clinton.

Saturday night, after his disappointing Nevada finish, his campaign tried to downplay the importance of results in any one state. "The race to the nomination is a marathon and not a sprint,” said Edwards’ campaign manager, former Rep. David Bonior. “The nomination won't be decided by win-loss records, but by delegates, and we're ready to fight for every delegate.”

On Sunday, Edwards continued to sound a cautious theme, saying South Carolina was “important,” but just one “part of the long process. …We will see how it goes.”

Related video: Watch Edwards' Late Edition interview with Wolf Blitzer

– CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand

There is some confusion on who won more delegates in Nevada.

(CNN) - There are several possible answers: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and no one, and each answer is correct to some degree.

The purpose of Saturday’s caucuses was to elect delegates to next month’s county conventions, where delegates to the state convention in April will be chosen. It isn’t until this April meeting where the state’s 25 delegates to the national convention in Denver will actually be selected.

Hillary Clinton indisputably won the battle for county convention delegates, nabbing at least 5,300 compared to about 4,800 for Obama.

However, one could argue that Barack Obama won the battle for national convention delegates – even though no national delegates were actually awarded tonight – if you assume that the national convention delegates would be allocated in proportion to Saturday’s caucus results. CNN, the Associated Press, and other news organizations adopted this approach and estimated that Obama would go on to win 13 national convention delegates to 12 for Clinton if both candidates remained in the race by the time of the state convention in April.

But how is it possible that Clinton could win a majority of county convention delegates and not go on to win a majority of national convention delegates?

Under state party rules, Nevada’s 25 national convention delegates were divided up across Nevada’s three congressional districts. Then, the party took the additional step of dividing the Second Congressional District into three parts: Washoe county in northwestern Nevada which includes Reno; parts of Clark county in the southeast near Las Vegas; and then the rural and sparsely populated but geographically vast counties that make up the rest of the state.

Of those three subdivisions, Clinton's best showing was concentrated in the Las Vegas area in Clark county, while Obama beat her in Washoe and in the rural counties. Obama’s win in these two key areas, which were worth more national delegates than the area Clinton won, enabled him to overcome Clinton’s estimated lead in national delegates in the rest of the state.

“In a nutshell what happened is in the rural areas, Obama had a majority in the district that had an odd number of delegates, so he won an extra seat,” the Obama campaign’s director of delegate selection, Jeff Berman, told reports in a conference call. “Where Clinton won, the delegates were split evenly.”

The Clinton campaign, not surprisingly, chose to emphasize their candidate’s win in county convention delegates, rather than their narrow loss in the estimated allocation of national convention delegates.

“Hillary Clinton won the Nevada caucuses today by winning a majority of the delegates at stake,” the campaign said in a statement Saturday. “The Obama campaign is wrong. Delegates for the national convention will not be determined until April 19.”

Which campaign was right? According to the state party: both of them and neither of them.

Nevada Democratic Party Chair Jill Derby said in a statement, “What was awarded today were delegates to the County Convention, of which Sen. Clinton won the majority.”

“No national convention delegates were awarded. That said, if the delegate preferences remain unchanged between now and April 2008, the calculations of national convention delegates being circulated by the Associated Press are correct.”

That estimate would give Obama a 13-to-12 edge in Nevada’s national convention delegates.

Obama still trails Clinton in the overall hunt for national convention delegates. According to a CNN survey, Clinton now leads Obama 210 to 123 in delegates overall when the preferences of party insiders known as “superdelegates” are factored in. A total of 2,025 national convention delegate votes are needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.

(CNN) – You know you're in Vegas when victory at a caucus precinct comes in the form of a card draw.

On Saturday, Sen. Hillary Clinton won the caucus at Mojave High School in North Las Vegas when one of her supporters pulled out the queen of hearts - besting the 10 of spades for Obama.

Tom Komenda, a Clinton supporter, told CNN there was an even number of supporters for the two candidates - 48 each. But the caucus had five delegates, so they couldn't be split evenly.

How to break the tie? A good old fashioned card draw.

Komenda - who sent CNN the story via I-Report - said a sealed deck was unwrapped. But as the shuffling started, he was concerned that the shuffler might have been shuffling in a way that exposed the faces of the cards to some of the nervous onlookers.

"I said, 'Wait wait wait - if we have to do this idiotic thing with cards, we're going to shuffle them the way they're supposed to be shuffled,'" he told CNN, laughing. "Then they said, 'If you want to shuffle, come down here and shuffle. So I went down and shuffled!"

Komenda says an Obama supporter drew first, and up came the ten of spades. Next, a Clinton supporter drew, and a queen of hearts decided the tie-breaker in favor of Clinton. So the final delegate count was two delegates for Obama, and three for Clinton.

It all ended, he said, in "cheers from one side of the room, groans and boos from the other."

Those cheering ended up rewarding Komenda - he was chosen to be one of the delegates for Clinton.

–CNN's Josh Levs

Hillary Clinton did poorly among African-American voters in Nevada, according to entrance polls. (Photo Credit: AP)

WASHINGTON (CNN) - African Americans overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama in the Nevada caucuses, just as they did in the Michigan Democratic primary last week - a trend that could hurt Hillary Clinton in next Saturday’s South Carolina primary, where black voters are expected to make up half the electorate.

Black voters made up 16 percent of Democratic Nevada caucus-goers - and roughly 80 percent of them voted for Obama, according to entrance polls. Clinton won support from 16 percent of black voters.

In Michigan's Democratic primary Tuesday - a contest that was rendered meaningless after party sanctions - roughly 70 percent of African-American voters did not cast their votes for Clinton, choosing the “uncommitted” option instead. According to CNN exit polls, those voters overwhelmingly favored Barack Obama, whose name did not appear on the ballot.

Had Obama’s name been on the Michigan ballot, CNN exit polls showed that he would have won an overwhelming 73 percent of the African-American vote, in contrast to 22 percent who say they would have voted for Clinton under those circumstances.

If South Carolina’s large African-American community votes as Michigan's and now Nevada's, Hillary may not be feeling much ‘southern hospitality’ in that state.

African-Americans have long been firm supporters of both former President Bill Clinton - dubbed the first 'black president' by author Toni Morrison - and Hillary Clinton. But a high profile spat earlier this month between the New York senator and Obama over the issue of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy may have done some damage to Clinton's favorability numbers among some in the African-American community.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

(CNN) - Hours after Clinton campaign officials told reporters they were worried about instances of voter intimidation in Nevada, the Obama campaign made similar allegations.

In a statement, campaign manager David Plouffe said there had been more than 200 separate reports of “incidents of trouble” at caucus locations, including early closings, a shortage of registration forms, and random and non-uniform I.D. checks.

“This is in addition to the Clinton campaign’s efforts to confuse voters and call into question the at-large caucus sites which clearly had an affect on turnout at these locations,” said Plouffe. “These kinds of Clinton campaign tactics were part of an entire week’s worth of false, divisive, attacks designed to mislead caucus-goers and discredit the caucus itself.”

He added that the campaign had a hotline number for concerned voters to call, and planned to investigate all of the incidents reported Saturday.

Related video: Bill Clinton talks tactics

Democrats are split among race, age, and gender, according to Nevada entrance polls.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Nevada entrance polls indicate deep divisions among race, gender, and age in the Democratic presidential race.

Among black voters, Barack Obama bested Hillary Clinton 79 percent to 16 percent. (Black voters constituted 16 percent of Nevada caucus goers.)

Among women voters, Clinton bested Obama 58 percent to 35 percent - a cornerstone of Clinton's win in the state, since women made up roughly 60 percent of Nevada caucus goers.

Finally, the younger the caucus-goer, the more likely he or she supported Obama. The Illinois senator overwhelmingly beat Clinton among 18-29 year-olds (57 percent to 30 percent) and edged out Clinton among 30-44 year olds (42 percent to 30 percent).

But the New York senator edged out Obama among 45-49 year olds (46 percent to 39 percent) and easily beat him among those caucus-goers 60 and older (61 percent to 28 percent.) Those two statistics were particularly good news for Clinton, since roughly two-thirds of Saturday’s caucus-goers were over 45.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) – Another contest, another day of record turnout for Democrats.

The Nevada Democratic Party reports that with 84 percent of the precincts reporting, they are seeing unprecedented turnout, with more than 107,000 caucus attendees.

This follows record turnouts for Democrats in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

The numbers are unsurprising, given the fact that most national polls have indicated for quite some time that Democrats are incredibly energized about the 2008 presidential election.

Fewer than 10,000 people attended the 2004 Nevada caucuses, but that contest was much later in the primary season, with very little at stake.

The national Democratic Party decided to move up Nevada's date to the middle of January to make the state, which has a large union and Latino Democratic electorate, more of a primary season player.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was instrumental in moving his state's contest up earlier in the primary process.

He called today's turnout a "tremendous success."

–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) – If you weren’t supporting Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama at the caucus held Saturday at Caesar’s Palace, then you were caught in some pretty aggressive crossfire.

Early reports showed that the at-large caucuses on Las Vegas’ famed Strip were fairly evenly divided between Obama and Clinton, and at Caesar’s the two sides didn’t mind voicing their support. The senators’ corners volleyed chants back and forth and often crossed the invisible line that separated them in the middle of the ballroom to bait the other side.

On several occasions the back-and-forth grew heated, with rumors of false information and unfair lobbying of undecideds swirling among caucus-goers.

Clinton supporters from the Steel Workers’ Union held signs saying “I Support my Union, I Support Hillary.” Since the at-large caucuses we targeting workers from Culinary Union which endorsed Obama, the Obama supporters felt Clinton supporters were misleading undecided Culinary workers.

In the end, of the 33 delegates allotted to Caesar’s, 17 went to Obama and 16 to Clinton. The six caucus-goers (of 167) who weren’t supporting Obama or Clinton quietly slipped their second choices to the caucus chair so the warring factions wouldn’t swarm them. Four went for Obama, one for Hillary, and the last decided not to commit.

– CNN Nevada Producer Alexander Marquardt

LAS VEGAS (CNN) - With solid backing from Latino voters and women overall, Sen. Hillary Clinton has claimed her second win of the Democratic presidential race in Saturday's Nevada caucuses, CNN projects.

Entrance polls indicated Democrats were split along ethnic, racial and generational lines. But women made up nearly 60 percent of those taking part in Saturday's contest, and the New York senator and former first lady led her top rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, by a margin of 52 percent to 35 percent among those voters.

Clinton, who won last week's New Hampshire primary, was winning the Latino vote by a nearly 3-1 margin in Nevada, according to entrance polls. Latinos make up about a quarter of the state's population and 14 percent of caucus participants, those polls found.

Saturday's contest marked the first time a Western state has played an early role in the presidential race, and Democrats are counting on Latino voters to help the party make inroads into the region in 2008.

Clinton won big in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas - home to about 1.7 million of the state's population of 2.6 million. Clinton led Obama by about 11 percentage points in the county with 90 percent of its precincts reporting.

Meanwhile, after a week punctuated by a dust-up between the Clinton and Obama campaigns over civil rights history, Obama led overwhelmingly among the 16 percent of his fellow African-Americans who came out to caucus. Nearly 80 percent of black caucus-goers supported Obama, who won the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses - and black voters are expected to make up about half of the electorate in South Carolina, the scene of the party's next primary.

"Right now, things are very uneasy in the black community," said Donna Brazile, a CNN analyst who managed former Vice President Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign. She said her own relatives in South Carolina are split between Clinton and Obama.

"This is a key test, not just for the black vote, but also a key test for the Democrats in terms of heading South," she said.

South Carolina is also the native state of the third major Democrat in the race, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who finished in single digits in Nevada. Edwards finished second in Iowa and third in New Hampshire, but has vowed to stay in the race until the party's August convention in
Denver.

Obama also led strongly among voters under 30, while Clinton took the over-45 category.

Like Republicans, Democratic caucus-goers called the economy their top issue in 2008 - and they preferred Clinton, whose husband presided over a lengthy economic boom in the 1990s, by a 49-38 margin over Obama.

The war in Iraq and health care were the No. 2 and No. 3 issues for Democrats, and Clinton led strongly among voters who chose those as their top issues, the entrance polls found.

Edwards has based his campaign on a strong populist pitch targeting corporate interests, whom he said have "rigged" Washington in their favor. But he drew the support of just 10 percent of caucus-goers who called the economy their top issue, and 11 percent among those who viewed health care their biggest concern.

Nevada Democrats said they had a record turnout for Saturday's caucuses, with more than 107,000 people taking part.

The caucuses were held after a dispute between two of the state's largest labor organizations, the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union and the 28,000 strong Nevada State Education Education, which represents teachers.

The state Democratic Party gave the nearly 200,000 workers on the Las Vegas strip a chance to take part in the caucuses by setting up nine "at-large" precincts in casinos. That was expected to give a boost to Obama once the culinary workers endorsed the Illinois senator.

The teachers union went to court last week to block the plan, arguing it gave hotel and casino employees an unfair advantage over other workers and granted outsized weight to the "at-large" precincts. A federal judge in Las Vegas rejected the suit Thursday, ruling that caucus procedures were up to the state party to decide.

CNN's projection of Clinton as the eventual winner is based on precincts reporting results, entrance polls and other statistical models - including the number of votes outstanding in areas where Clinton was expected to do well.

–CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider contributed to this report

(CNN) - As Nevada Democrats gathered for the state’s caucuses Saturday, Hillary Clinton’s campaign told reporters their supporters were worried about voter intimidation – just hours after former President Bill Clinton said he had personally witnessed voter harassment.

CNN has since projected that Hillary Clinton has won Saturday’s Democratic vote in Nevada.

“We have heard from many people on the ground over the past few days who are concerned about voter intimidation,” spokesman Howard Wolfson said in a conference call with reporters.

Spokeswoman Karen Hicks said many casino workers had thought they could only participate in caucuses at the controversial at-large caucus sites if they supported Barack Obama, and that the Clinton campaign had heard reports of confusion and voter intimidation.

Friday night, Bill Clinton told a Nevada crowd that he and his daughter Chelsea had visited a hotel, and seen a union representative trying to strong-arm Clinton supporters.

“Today when my daughter and I were wandering through the hotel, and all these culinary workers were mobbing us telling us they didn’t care what the union told them to do, they were gonna caucus for Hillary,” he said.

“There was a representative of the organization following along behind us going up to everybody who said that, saying 'if you’re not gonna vote for our guy were gonna give you a schedule tomorrow so you can’t be there.' So, is this the new politics? I haven’t seen anything like that in America in 35 years. So I will say it again – they think they're better than you.”

Wolfson did not directly address the former president’s claims Saturday. “I haven’t talked to the president since he made those comments, but it’s one I’m going to have to speak to him before I comment on that.”

And the Vegas papers haven't found any evidence of the kind of straightforward voter suppression Clinton reports. The Obama campaign has suggested the Clinton campaign file formal complaints if it has evidence.

Culinary Workers Political Director Pilar Weiss told Politico the allegations were “ludicrous.” She said the union is "aware that some workers aren't going to vote our way" and doesn't engage in intimidation.

"We have found it shocking that President Clinton has gotten so engaged in promoting these accusations," she said.

–CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand

(CNN) - The Obama campaign released a recording Saturday that they said was a last-minute negative robo-call received by a Nevada voter.

The call attacks the Illinois senator and emphasizes his little-used middle name, repeatedly referring to “Barack Hussein Obama.” The Obama campaign posted an mp3 of the call on the Internet. (outside link)

"I'm calling with some important information about Barack Hussein Obama," says the anonymous caller. "Barack Hussein Obama says he doesn't take money from Washington lobbyists or special interest groups, but the record is clear that he does."

The male voice concludes: "You just can't take a chance on Barack Hussein Obama."

–CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand

LAS VEGAS (CNN) – Mitt Romney, who CNN projects has won the Republican caucuses in Nevada with 46 percent of the vote, scored well with voters who ranked the economy and illegal immigration as the issues that concern them most, according to early entrance polls.

The former Massachusetts governor also benefited from his Mormon religion, the poll results show. Romney captured 94 percent of the voters who identified themselves as Mormon, which made up 25 percent of all Republicans participating in the GOP caucuses. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints estimates there are 170,000 members living in Nevada.

While Romney appears on his way to an easy victory in Nevada, several Republican contenders are in a tight battle for second place.

CNN's projections are based on precincts reporting results, entrance polls and other statistical models - including the number of votes outstanding in areas where the candidates were expected to do well.

"Today, the people of Nevada voted for change in Washington," Romney said in a statement released by his campaign. "Whether it is reforming health care, making America energy independent or securing the border, the American people have been promised much and are now ready for change.

"The need for change is even more apparent today as our economy faces challenges both here at home and abroad," Romney said. "For decades, we have talked about the long-term economic challenges confronting our country but the tax burden is too high, business is stifled by regulations and more money goes to defending against junk lawsuits than promoting research and innovation."

Entrance poll results showed that the economy and illegal immigration ranked first and second on the minds of GOP voters with 38 percent and 34 percent, respectively.

Romney also won over veterans, late deciders and rural voters - although the entrance polls show a closer race in Washoe County, home of Reno, Nevada's second largest city, than in Las Vegas and Clark County, the state's largest metropolitan area.

–CNN's Mark Preston and Keating Holland

WASHINGTON (CNN) - In a development that could bode well for her chances in upcoming presidential primaries, Hillary Clinton overwhelmingly won the Hispanic vote in Nevada - the first contest where Latino voters played a significant role.

According to exit polling, Latino voters constituted 14 percent of Nevada Democratic caucus goers, and 64 percent of them voted for Clinton. Twenty-four percent chose Barack Obama, and 9 percent favored John Edwards.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Ron Paul is in a close battle for second place in Nevada.

(CNN) - Ron Paul is currently battling for second with his Republican rivals in the party's Nevada caucuses in early returns, at 12 percent of the vote with about two-fifths of the ballots counted.

Mitt Romney is projected to win the Republican caucuses there, thanks in part to unusually high turnout among the state’s sizeable Mormon minority. He currently has 55 percent of the vote.

Most of the GOP candidates, with the exception of Romney and Paul, did not campaign in Nevada, focusing instead on South Carolina’s first-in-the-South vote, also on Saturday.

Paul, who has amassed an enormous campaign war chest and a vocal group of passionate supporters, has beaten Rudy Giuliani in Michigan and Fred Thompson in New Hampshire - and has so far, according to a count released by his campaign, drawn 30,000 more primary votes in total than either man.

The Paul campaign had warned Friday of potential “chaos” in the Nevada caucus process – including rule changes, location shifts, and potential ballot shortages – and had called on the state party to consider postponing the event. In a statement, they warned of potential voter disenfranchisement, and vote fraud.

“The inconsistencies, errors and multiple changes in the rules reek of playing politics with what should be a neutral process,” said campaign manager Lew Moore. “The people of Nevada deserve to know exactly what the rules are and to know that those rules are being fairly enforced. This has not happened up to this point, and the caucus appears to be in chaos.”

View results as they come in here

–CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand

LAS VEGAS (CNN) - CNN projects Mitt Romney will win the Republican caucuses in Nevada.

NEW YORK (CNN) – Mitt Romney scored well with Republican voters Saturday who ranked the economy and illegal immigration as major issues facing the country, according to early entrance poll results from the Nevada caucuses.

And the former Massachusetts governor also benefited from his Mormon religion.

The Associated Press projected Romney as the winner of the Nevada caucuses based on the entrance poll data, but CNN is still waiting for official results from the Nevada Republican Party before the network projects a winner.

Entrance poll results showed that the former Massachusetts governor did well on the economy and illegal immigration, which ranked first and second on the minds of GOP voters.

Romney also captured 94 percent of the voters who identified themselves as Mormon, which made up 25 percent of all Republicans participating in the GOP caucuses. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints estimates that there are 170,000 members living in Nevada.

– CNN’s Mark Preston and Keating Holland

Obama's interview with the Reno-Gazette Journal Monday has been slowly picked apart all week.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - For his political rivals, Barack Obama's editorial board meeting Monday with the Reno Gazette-Journal is the gift that keeps on giving.

First Hillary Clinton jumped on a portion of the interview where he acknowledged his weakness is that he is not an "operating officer" and would not spend his presidency immersed in bureaucratic details. The New York senator responded that the presidency requires a "hands on" leader.

Then John Edwards targeted a portion where Obama appeared to praise Ronald Reagan for his ability to change the political landscape - Edwards said he would never consider praising the former president who caused such "damage to the middle class and working people."

Now Clinton is highlighting a part of the board meeting where Obama called Republicans the "party of ideas" over the last 10 to 15 years.

"I think it’s fair to say the Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last ten, fifteen years, in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom," he said in the board meeting. "Now, you’ve heard it all before. You look at the economic policies when they’re being debated among the Presidential candidates and it’s all tax cuts. Well, you know, we’ve done that, we tried it."

"That’s not the way I remember the last ten to fifteen years," Clinton said while campaigning in Las Vegas. "I don’t think it’s a better idea to privatize Social Security. I don’t think it’s a better idea to try to eliminate the minimum wage. I don’t think it’s a better idea to undercut health benefits and to give drug companies the right to make billions of dollars by providing prescription drugs to Medicare recipients. I don’t think it’s a better idea to shut down the government, to drive us into debt."

Obama spokesman Bill Burton brushed aside Clinton's comments.

“It’s hard to take Hillary Clinton’s latest attack seriously when she’s the one who supported George Bush’s war in Iraq, the most damaging Republican idea of our generation," he said.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

John McCain attends an event on the aircraft carrier Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on Friday.

(CNN) - Voters head to the polls and caucus sites Saturday in South Carolina and Nevada, contests that could propel two candidates to front-runner status in this year's wide-open presidential races.

A win in the South Carolina Republican primary could give one of the candidates a hand up in a race that, so far, has produced three different winners in three major contests.

Historically, the path to the Republican nomination has gone through South Carolina, which relishes its role of being the political gateway to the South.

Full story

Watch Obama talk tough, and try comedy in Las Vegas. (Photo Credit: AP)

(CNN) - Democrat Barack Obama launched sharp - and at times bitingly sarcastic - attacks at presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in Nevada Friday.

In comments he first introduced on the trail Thursday night, Obama chastised Clinton for trying to make an issue of the fact he admitted at a recent debate he is at times disorganized, and mocked both Clinton and John Edwards for what they offered as their "weaknesses."

"I said, 'Well, I don't hang on to paper really well. My desk is a mess, so you know I need people to help me filing and keeping on schedule and things like that,'" he told a raucous crowd in Las Vegas. "And so my two colleagues - Sen. Edwards says um, 'My biggest weakness is I'm just so passionate about poor people and helping them,' and then Hillary says, ‘My biggest weakness is I'm so impatient to bring about real change in America.'"

"Now, I didn't, nobody had clued me in, that ya know, see, if I had gone last I would have said 'My biggest weakness? I like to help old ladies across the street," Obama deadpanned to laughter.

"I didn't understand the question," he said, laughing. "But this is what I mean. This is political speak. This is what you learn in Washington from all those years of experience - it's funny, except its sad, because it means that the American people are constantly having to sort out ‘what do people really mean?’"

Obama also went after Clinton for saying in the recent debate she was pleased a bankruptcy bill she voted for in 2001 failed to become law, and suggested it fits into a larger pattern of the New York senator often not being upfront.

"She said she voted for it, uh, but she hoped that the bill would die," he said. "Anybody remember that? Think about that. She voted for it even though she hoped it wouldn't pass."

"I've been less worried about making political points on these things, but getting them right," Obama continued. "That's the kind of leadership that I intend to offer as President of the United States. Somebody who will be straight with you and get it right the first time."

Obama's tough talk is a departure from how the Illinois senator campaigned in Iowa - a state where voters are often turned off by negative campaigning - and in New Hampshire, where polls suggested he would easily cruise to victory. Recent polls out of Nevada suggest all three Democrats are in a tight battle for the top spot ahead of Saturday's caucus.

– CNN's Alexander Mooney and Chris Welch

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) - The White House hopefuls made their closing arguments out on the trail a day before Nevada's caucuses and South Carolina's Republican primary.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Jessica Yellin reports from Las Vegas about the leading Democrats' focus on economic issues on the eve of the caucuses in Nevada. John King reports from Spartanburg, South Carolina about the high stakes for the Republican presidential hopefuls in the first southern primary of the 2008 presidential race.

Plus, Bill Schneider digs deep into the results of a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll. Find out who has benefited bickering between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Finally, it's Friday and that means it's time for Trail Mix - a look at some of the week's most memorable moments from the campaign trail.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

(CNN) - Democrat Barack Obama launched sharp - and at times bitingly sarcastic - attacks at presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in Nevada Friday.

In comments he first introduced on the trail Thursday night, Obama chastised Clinton for trying to make an issue of the fact he admitted at a recent debate he is at times disorganized, and mocked both Clinton and John Edwards for what they offered as their "weaknesses."

 Full story

– CNN's Alexander Mooney and Chris Welch

Obama is sharpening his critiques of Clinton.

RENO, Nevada (CNN) – Presenting himself Friday as the candidate who can make the correct decisions the first time around, Barack Obama cranked up his criticism of Hillary Clinton, hitting her on issues from the war in Iraq to the economy.

"Sen. Clinton has said she is ready to lead from day one," the Illinois senator said, "but it's important on day one to get it right, whether you're talking about war or you're talking about economic proposals."

Obama often tells crowds that he has the judgment needed to serve as president, and adds that he was against the war from the beginning.

At a Reno campaign stop Friday, he also said that his initial economic stimulus package was the right plan, since it included tax relief for middle-class Americans, while Clinton's did not.

"Today, five days after she released her plan, she said 'Well, you know what? We need a tax rebate,' because now apparently she agrees with me."

Obama said he was using that example to illustrate a larger problem that he called "political speak."

"It is easy to be for policies that help working families when its popular on the campaign trail, but the American people don't want a president whose plans change with the politics of the moment."

"This is what you learn in Washington from all those years of experience," Obama added. "It means that the American people are constantly having to sort out what do people really mean."

"It's why people mistrust our politics. And part of my job in this race is to restore people's sense that you say what you mean and you mean what you say."

–CNN Political Producer Chris Welch

Clinton says some union members might feel pressure on caucus day.

ELKO, Nevada (CNN) – Hillary Clinton expressed concern that undue union pressure might play a role in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, saying that some members are being told they should either caucus for a particular candidate, or just stay home.

“I have some concerns about the process, and I want to be really clear about this to everyone. I am afraid that some people may feel that they can't come, or they shouldn't come, or they can't support the candidate of their choice,” Clinton said at an Elko, Nevada campaign event Friday.

“We know that there are some unions in the south that are telling people who to caucus for... so I am calling on all the candidates and all of the unions to make it clear to their supporters and members that people in Nevada - a free and independent state with a very independent people - are free to stand up for the candidate of their choice,” she said, adding that “There should be no interference with anybody's right to caucus.'

Clinton has been endorsed by twice as many Nevada unions as John Edwards, and more than twice as many as Barack Obama. But the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union, which has endorsed Obama, dwarfs the others combined in size.

Some of Clinton’s supporters recently filed an unsuccessful lawsuit over caucus voting at casino sites, where many Culinary Workers Union members are employed.

–CNN Senior Political Producer Mike Roselli

Watch Friday's highlight's from the campaign trail.

(CNN) - Around the clock campaigning has replaced sleep for most of the presidential candidates. In the latest edition of American Votes 2008, watch the candidates battle it out for their causes.

Related: Saturday’s Presidential primary in South Carolina is the first southern state to weigh in on the race to the White House. Listen to CNN’s Bill Caiaccio and Todd Shaw, a University of South Carolina associate professor of political science and African American studies, analyze what’s at stake for the Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina.

President Reagan is causing a debate in the Democratic presidential race. (Photo Credit: Getty Images/AFP)

(CNN) - Republican presidential candidates often battle to outdo each other on who can invoke Ronald Reagan most often - but the former president's name is not nearly as welcome on the Democratic side.

Campaigning in union-heavy Nevada Thursday, John Edwards took direct aim at Barack Obama for "using Ronald Reagan as an example of change," and said he himself would never praise the Republican icon that way.

“He was openly - openly - intolerant of unions and the right to organize. He openly fought against the union and the organized labor movement in this country," Edwards said during a campaign event in Henderson, Nevada. "He openly did extraordinary damage to the middle class and working people, created a tax structure that favored the very wealthiest Americans and caused the middle class and working people to struggle every single day. The destruction of the environment, you know, eliminating regulation of companies that were polluting and doing extraordinary damage to the environment.”

“I can promise you this: this president will never use Ronald Reagan as an example for change," he added.

Obama told the editorial board of the Reno-Journal Gazette Monday he didn't view himself as the transformative figure Ronald Reagan was.

"I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not," Obama said. "He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."

Obama's campaign has said the Illinois senator disagrees with much of what Reagan did, and he was merely pointing out that the former president changed the political landscape.

Edwards' comments come as he battles to win support from union members in Nevada who will heavily influence the Democratic caucuses this Saturday. Recent polls suggest all three Democrats are in a tight race there.

While Reagan had a rocky relationship at best with the major unions during his presidency, he once actually led a union himself. The onetime actor was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947-52 and again in 1959.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Edwards is criticizing Obama for ads run on his behalf.

(CNN) - John Edwards said Friday that Barack Obama needs to “speak up, if he really means what he says” about ending divisive politics and denounce a Nevada ad funded by an independent group that supports the Illinois senator’s presidential bid.

The spot, running on Spanish-language radio in the state, criticizes Hillary Clinton for a lawsuit filed by some of her Nevada supporters that had sought new restrictions workplace caucus sites this Saturday. The buy is funded by the Unite Here Campaign Committee on behalf of the Culinary Workers Union, which has endorsed Obama.

"Everyone pledged that this kind of divisive politics that divides the Democratic Party, and could divide America, would come to an end. Sen. Obama made that pledge, I was sitting five feet from him when he made it," Edwards told the crowd at a Nevada campaign event.

“And now it turns out that in the last 24 hours there's a radio ad, a malicious radio ad, attacking Sen. Clinton. That is exactly the kind of divisive politics. It's being run right here, in Las Vegas. I denounce it. This kind of ad, I don't care who's doing it - in this case it's Sen. Obama's supporters - but this sort of thing needs to stop.

“And from what I've seen, Sen. Obama has not said a single word about this. Nothing. When two days ago, three days ago, he said on a stage in front of America and said, 'This kind of politics has no place in America,’” said Edwards.

“He should speak up, if he really means what he says, and this is not just talk, he should speak up and denounce this type of divisive politics.”

John Edwards was criticized by Obama in Iowa for not calling an independent group that supported the former North Carolina senator to demand they pull ads they were running in support of his candidacy.

The Obama campaign has not yet responded to Friday’s remarks from Edwards.

On Thursday, the Clinton and Edwards campaigns both took aim at Obama over the ad, which refers to the recent lawsuit over casino caucus sites by supporters of the New York senator’s presidential bid, saying it shows that “Hillary Clinton does not respect our people. …Hillary Clinton is shameless. Hillary Clinton should not allow her friends to attack our people’s right to vote this Saturday.”

The spot also praises Obama, saying that “Sen. Obama is defending our right to vote. … He respects our votes, our community, and our people.”

The Clinton campaign has expressed frustration with the fact that the spots are continuing to run, even though a judge ruled against the suit.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) – Hillary Clinton received an endorsement from the Las Vegas Sun on Friday, cutting short a sweep of Nevada’s major newspaper endorsements by Barack Obama.

The Sun's editorial praised Clinton for being strong on issues important to Nevadans, such as the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository and the economy. It sounded a nostalgic note, saying, “We need someone in the White House who can get our economy back to the way it was when Hillary’s husband, Bill, was president.”

Last year, the paper disclosed to readers that president and editor Brian Greenspun held a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and is "a close friend of President Bill Clinton, the senator's husband." This week the longtime Democratic donor, who has also given to other candidates, wrote an op-ed in the paper personally endorsing Clinton’s candidacy.“Although Obama is likable, so was the inexperienced George W. Bush before he became president,” said the Sun's editorial board Friday, “and we know where that got us.”

“Clinton has a long and substantial record of leadership fighting on behalf of working Americans and children, and it is this experience and her passion for creating a better country that would serve this nation so well," they added. “Our country needs someone who can be president from Day One after taking the oath of office.”

Obama and Clinton are neck-and-neck in most recent surveys in Nevada, the third state in the Democrats’ presidential nomination process, after splitting the first two contests.

– CNN Nevada Producer Alexander Marquardt

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) - For the second time in as many days, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have scored endorsements from a major Nevada newspaper.

The Reno Gazette-Journal, Nevada’s second-largest newspaper, announced on its Web site Thursday night that it was endorsing Republican Romney and Democrat Obama in a pair of editorials that focused on electability in November.

The paper's editorial board complimented Romney for getting voters to cross party lines to elect a Republican governor in heavily Democratic Massachusetts.

“Romney’s most remarkable feat,” the board writes, “was his stewardship of the Salt Lake City Olympics. He showed that he could bring disparate groups together, clean up a mess left by his predecessor, and to put on possibly the most successful games ever.”

Obama, the editorial board believes, “embodies the political and ideological perspectives that the party projects. He represents the platform of political unity and workable populist economics that he and party members believe will reinvigorate the economy and solve many of the other problems the nation is facing.”

The article describes Hillary Clinton as “struggling under the cloud of her husband,” and says John Edwards does not connect with the Democratic Party’s base.

It's the third contest for Democratic candidates, who are locked in a fierce battle for Nevada. Republicans, however, are paying little attention to the state. The Gazette-Journal blames this development on state GOP officials, who it says have “[made] a mess of the process.”

– CNN Nevada Producer Alexander Marquardt

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The campaigns of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards took aim at Barack Obama Thursday over radio ads in Nevada funded by a third-party group that is backing his candidacy.

The spot, running on Spanish-language radio in the state, criticizes Clinton for a lawsuit filed by some of her Nevada supporters that sought new restrictions workplace caucus sites this Saturday. The buy is allegedly being funded by the Unite Here Campaign Committee on behalf of the Culinary Workers Union, which has endorsed Obama.

“Hillary Clinton does not respect our people. Hillary Clinton supporters went to court to prevent working people to vote this Saturday – that is an embarrassment,” says the announcer, according to a translation of the script sent to reporters by the Clinton campaign.

“Hillary Clinton supporters want to prevent people from voting in their workplace on Saturday. This is unforgivable. Hillary Clinton is shameless. Hillary Clinton should not allow her friends to attack our people’s right to vote this Saturday. This is unforgivable, there’s no respect.

“Sen. Obama is defending our right to vote. Sen. Obama wants our votes. He respects our votes, our community, and our people. Sen. Obama’s campaign slogan is “Si Se Puede” (“Yes We Can”). Vote for a president that respects us, and that respects our right to vote. Obama for president.”

On a conference call with reporters late this afternoon, Hispanic supporters of Clinton’s presidential candidacy criticized the union for incorrectly implying that “Si Se Puede” – a slogan associated with the late activist Cesar Chavez – was also the Obama campaign’s official slogan.

The Clinton campaign also expressed frustration with the fact that the spots are continuing to run, even though a judge ruled against the suit today, the ad has continued to air.

John Edwards was criticized by Obama in Iowa for not calling an independent group that supported the former North Carolina senator to demand they pull ads they were running in support of his candidacy. “When Sen. Obama says ‘turn the page,’ he obviously means turn to whatever page is most convenient. He loudly and repeatedly attacked independent ads by unions in Iowa as the product of special interests,” said Edwards Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince.

“But when a different outside group starts running ads on his behalf in Nevada, there's not a peep from him or his campaign. It must be because he's burning up the phone lines calling the head of Unite Here personally to demand he pulls the ads down right away.”

Late Thursday, the Obama campaign responded to the criticism: “Sen. Obama believes, and has said clearly, that campaigns should fund themselves and discourages supporters from spending outside the campaign,” said campaign spokesman Bill Burton. “But no one should be confused about the effort that was run on behalf of John Edwards in Iowa. In that case, it was not the independent speech of individual union members, each contributing small amounts to amplify their voices. It was a special project of outside donors funding a massive 527 effort run by one of Edwards’ top political lieutenants.

“As for the Clinton campaign's comment, coming from a campaign that is repeatedly launching absolutely false attacks against Sen. Obama, it takes some chutzpah. The fact is their camp clearly would like to have worker's voices silenced and they need to live with that unfortunate position.”

--CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand

Watch Thursday's highlight's from the campaign trail.

(CNN) – In the latest edition of America Votes 2008, all eyes and ears are on the campaign trail as the candidates work to rally votes in Nevada and South Carolina.

Related: Listen to CNN’s Bill Caiaccio and Emory University professor of politics Merle Black analyze the uncertainty in the GOP race.

Watch Bill Clinton get upset with a reporter.

(CNN) - Bill Clinton became visibly combative with a reporter Wednesday after being questioned about a lawsuit in Nevada that is seeking to ban caucus meetings in nine casinos on the Las Vegas strip.

The lawsuit, filed by the state teacher's union - an organization that has backed Hillary Clinton's White House bid - came Friday, shortly after Barack Obama was officially endorsed by the Culinary Union. Culinary Union members primarily work in casinos, and could constitute the majority of participants at caucuses held at those locations.

The teacher's union is claiming the at-large caucus sites would unfairly have more weight in terms of delegate allotment than caucuses throughout the rest of the state. The lawsuit also takes issue with caucuses being held midday at those sites – which could make it easier for culinary workers to caucus than it will be for other Nevadans.

Critics of the lawsuit say it is a clear attempt to suppress Obama’s support, a notion with which the former president sharply disagreed.

"Do you really believe that all the Democrats understood that they had agreed to give everybody who voted in a casino a vote worth five times as much as people who voted in their own precinct? Did you know that?" the former president said, growing visibly upset. (Watch Clinton's back and forth with the reporter)

"What happened is nobody understood what had happened. Now everybody's saying, 'Oh, they don't want us to vote.' What they really tried to do was to set up a deal where their votes counted five times, maybe even more."

Clinton also maintained that his wife’s campaign had "nothing to do" with the lawsuit," and claimed the reporter was taking an "accusatory tone."

"Get on your television station and say, 'I don't care about the home mortgage crisis, all I care about is making sure that some voters have it easier than others should count five times, and when they do vote, when its already easier for them, their vote should count five times as much as others," Clinton said in a raised voice.

"If you want to take that your position, get on the television and take it," he added, as aides pulled him away. "Don't be accusatory with me, I had nothing to do with this lawsuit."

UPDATE: A federal judge has ruled that the Democratic Party can go ahead with the 9 at-large caucuses on the strip. The ruling could have a decisive effect on the result in the state given that recent polls show a dead heat between Clinton, Obama, and John Edwards.

Related: Clinton, Obama battle for upper hand in Nevada

– CNN's Alexander Mooney and Rebecca Sinderbrand

Caucus sites can be held on the Las Vegas strip, a judge rule.

LAS VEGAS (CNN) - The Democratic Party can go ahead with a plan to let casino workers take part in Saturday's Nevada caucuses in "at-large" precincts set up in their workplaces, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The state teacher's union went to court to challenge the plan, arguing that the casino caucus sites Saturday night will give the roughly 200,000 workers on the Las Vegas strip an unfair advantage over other voters who have to work that night. But U.S. District Judge James Mahan rejected that argument after a Thursday morning hearing.

The lawsuit sparked a battle between the 28,000-member Nevada State Education Association and the state's biggest labor organization, the 60,000-member Nevada Culinary Workers Union, which supports the casino caucuses. The culinary workers endorsed Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in Saturday's contest and accused the teachers union of trying to tilt the race in favor of his leading rival, senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton of New York.

Recent published polls show Clinton and Obama in a statistical dead heat going into the Nevada contest. Saturday's results could give the winner the upper hand going into the first contest in the South, the January 26 primary in South Carolina.

"When you're trying to change the rules a week before that were approved 10 months before, that's just not right, and I think people see through it as just crass politics," D. Taylor, secretary-treasurer of the Nevada Culinary Workers Union, said Wednesday.

The teachers' union has not endorsed Clinton, though some of its members and leaders are backing the former first lady.

"There are many conspiracy theories, I'll grant you that," said Terry Hickman, the union's executive director. "But our effort and our belief is that there's a fundamental right of fairness that's being ignored."

Republicans have made no provisions for "at-large" caucuses, so workers who want to participate in the GOP contest must find time to return to their neighborhood precincts.

Clinton said Wednesday that she wanted to see the issue resolved, "because obviously we want as many people as possible to be able to participate." And her husband, former President Bill Clinton, said he "had nothing to do with this lawsuit."

But he told a reporter from San Francisco television station KGO in a testy exchange that "some people in Nevada are old-fashioned. They think the rules should be the same for everybody, and everybody's vote should count the same."

UPDATE: The Obama campaign applauded the court's decision. "We're glad that the Nevada court upheld the Nevada Democratic Party's caucus plan which encourages voter participation," Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement.

"While the Clinton camp clearly believed the voices of workers should be silenced in service of their perceived political interest, they enjoyed a 25-point lead two months ago and have much of the party establishment in their camp.  So, despite their inherent advantages we are pleased this should be a close and competitive contest Saturday," said Burton.

– CNN's Jessica Yellin and Candy Crowley contributed to this report