Obama campaign names Nevada supporters ahead of Las Vegas visit

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who is campaigning in Las Vegas today, announced a team of high-profile Nevada supporters on Thursday.

The committee is made up of state Sen. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas; Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, businesswoman and consultant Rose McKinney-James; Democratic guru Billy Vassiliadis; and education activist Elaine Wynn, wife of casino mogul Steve Wynn.

“I am proud to have the support of this group of respected leaders and looking forward to working with them as we build a strong team of Nevadans committed to changing our politics so that we can meet the challenges facing our country,” Obama said in a prepared statement.

The impressive slate was the first announcement of Nevada endorsements for Obama, who has watched along with the rest of the Democratic field as Hillary Clinton has scooped up one big Nevada Democratic name after another.

Vassiliadis, a longtime political consultant and lobbyist, is perhaps the state’s most prominent Democratic operative. He is the CEO of R&R Partners, the firm that created the “What happens here, stays here” Las Vegas ad campaign.

Horsford, in his first Senate term, is a member of the Democratic National Committee. He runs Nevada Partners, a job training organization, as well as the Culinary union’s training academy.

The Democratic field, Horsford said Thursday, has “many great candidates, and I’ll be as supportive as I can to the other campaigns as well because of Nevada’s importance in selecting the next president.” But Horsford said he chose to support Obama because “in the end, he just has the leadership, the experience and the good, sound judgment that I think we need to lead America forward.”

Horsford, who is black, said his endorsement was about Obama as a candidate “more than the color of his skin.”

The Obama campaign has sought to distinguish itself nationally by building a people-powered, grass-roots movement rather than working through more traditional channels. Unlike most candidate campaign committees, this one doesn’t bestow titles such as co-chair on its members.

The campaign’s announcement stressed that the committee members’ focus will be on “building the grass-roots network in the state, offering strategic advice leading up to the Nevada caucuses and serving as representatives for Senator Obama when he is not in the state.”

Obama is scheduled to appear at an invitation-only house party in Las Vegas today, where he will meet with potential Democratic caucus-goers.