Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Friday unveiled a new television ad that will run in Nevada and South Carolina.
The 30-second ad, "Listen," is taken from her victory speech in New Hampshire last week, in which she said, "Over the last week, I listened to you, and in the process I found my own voice."
Clinton returns to Las Vegas today for a 9:30 a.m. kickoff of a canvassing effort targeting Hispanic voters. Clinton will appear at the Sheet Metal Workers Hall for the event titled, "Juntos Con Hillary, Una Vida Mejor" -- together with Hillary, a better life.
At 1 p.m., Clinton is scheduled to be in Reno for a discussion of housing foreclosures at a Mexican restaurant. High-profile Clinton surrogates are blanketing the state over the weekend, including former Ambassador Joe Wilson and his wife, former CIA agent Valerie Plame; Clinton's campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe; and a crew of big-name Hispanic politicos including former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
As rival Barack Obama campaigned in Las Vegas on Friday, Clinton's supporters in Nevada held a conference call trying to make the case that Obama is a hypocrite for accepting the endorsement of the Culinary union when he had made negative statements about the gaming industry in Illinois.
Former gaming executive Phil Satre and current Harrah's executive Jan Jones criticized statements Obama made saying he didn't think gaming was a good revenue base for government or a good economic development tool, and that he thought it could have deleterious effects on communities.
Satre, Jones and former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller said Obama's views reflected a failure to understand an industry important to the Nevada economy and increasingly important nationwide.
An Obama spokeswoman in Nevada said Clinton's supporters were "again distorting Barack Obama's record."
Shannon Gilson noted that Obama has always said gaming should be regulated by the states and made the statements in question while a state senator in Illinois.
"Obama has said that Nevada is a model for how states should regulate the gaming industry, and he applauds the success of the state in harnessing gaming as an engine of economic growth while cracking down on illegal activities," Gilson said. "He has made it clear that he believes there are potential moral and social costs to gambling if it's not properly regulated."
Clinton also was endorsed recently by state Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, previously a supporter of Sen. Joe Biden, who quit the race after Iowa.
After Biden departed, Coffin told the Review-Journal he wouldn't endorse another candidate. But after Clinton won in New Hampshire this week, Coffin said, he was on board with her because he believed in her readiness to lead the country.
Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2919.