(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.
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–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/images/01/18/art.clintonunion.ap.jpg caption="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
(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.
You know things are really getting ugly out there on the campaign trail when the candidates start going after the media. And that's exactly what's happening now.
First, there was that heated exchange between Bill Clinton and a local TV reporter in California. The former president got visibly annoyed when the reporter asked him about the decision to allow caucuses in the Las Vegas casinos where a lot of Barack Obama's supporters work.
Enter Republican candidate Mitt Romney. When he was asked about the role of lobbyists in his campaign by an AP reporter yesterday, he became defensive. Said he doesn't have no stinkin' lobbyists running his campaign. What he does have is a high-level adviser who is also the chairman of a large communications firm. Oh.
And John Edwards is whining about the media, too. His campaign is launching a full-on assault on the media for what they claim is inadequate and unfair press coverage.
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