Clinton spends day after debate campaigning in Las Vegas

By Megan Messerly

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015 | 10:14 a.m.

Hillary Clinton campaigned across the valley on Wednesday, continuing the momentum of what was generally considered a strong performance the day before at the Democratic presidential debate at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Clinton’s stops on Wednesday included an appearance at a rally at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, an ice cream shop in North Las Vegas and a training facility of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, which endorsed the Democratic front-runner in her bid for president.

After a tour of the facility in Henderson, Clinton thanked the union’s president, Ken Rigmaiden, for the endorsement and talked about a proposed tax credit for more apprentices, like those the union trains, and stressed the importance of unionization — as she also did at a surprise appearance at the Trump International Hotel on Monday, where she supported workers’ rights to unionize.

“It’s so important we stand against this really short sighted effort that the Republicans are engaging in to undermine unions,” Clinton said. “People need to have the right to join a union, they need to have the training and support they get from a union.

Clinton then stopped by La Flor de Michoacan Ice Cream in North Las Vegas, where she grabbed lime ice and met with Nevada Assemblyman Nelson Araujo. Outside, she paused to take pictures with community members, children and a chihuahua. When asked whether her ice cream or her performance at the debate was more enjoyable, Clinton laughed and said, “That was yesterday. Today was today.”

After strong performances from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Clinton ducked a question on whether she would select one of the two men as a running mate should she win the nomination. “I think I’ll wait to answer that. There’s a lot of work to be done between now and securing the nomination, which I’ll be focused on to earn every possible vote.”

She also declined to say whether her performance at last night’s debate at the Wynn Las Vegas ruled out a potential run from Vice President Joe Biden. “I think he needs to decide what is best for him and his family,” Clinton said. “I’m not going to comment on it. It’s not my place to do so.”

Clinton also discussed several issues important to Nevada voters. She said she supported the efforts of Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Dina Titus to preserve publicly owned land in Nevada, saying she thought it was important to “preserve existing public lands and to add more.” She also echoed her defense of her change in position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal from the debate, saying, “I just don’t think that when you add it all up that it meets the standards that I set.”

During the evening, Clinton rallied a crowd of about 2,500 supporters at the Springs Preserve amphitheater, reiterating her commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, stressing the need to create jobs and support the middle class and praising Nevada’s commitment to clean energy.

“If we invest in wind and solar, advanced biofuels, geothermal, we can not only begin to reverse the effects of climate change but begin to build our economy in a totally different way,” Clinton said. “You here in Nevada are doing just that. You have that big battery factory going in. You’ve been investing in more solar.”

In the state home to the highest share of undocumented immigrants, Clinton promised to defend President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration issued last fall, which would protect tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants in the state from deportation and are currently winding their way through the court system. Clinton drawed on her family

history in making her case. “That’s three generations from my grandfather, to my father, to me,” Clinton said, referring to her grandfather who immigrated from England. “If we had time tonight we could go through this crowd and have a thousand stories like that.”

At the rally, Rep. Dina Titus praised Clinton’s performance at the debate, to the cheers of the crowd, saying that her favorite line from Clinton at the debate was, “I’m a progressive, but I know how to get things done.” A local African-American choir from Victory Missionary Baptist Church and dancers and a mariachi band from Mexico Vivo Dance Company performed before Clinton’s speech.

“For me, it’s not enough that a granddaughter of a former president gets ahead,” Clinton said. “I want to be sure that the granddaughters of factory workers and the grandsons of truck drivers and the grandchildren of teachers and fast food workers and childcare workers and everybody that works hard in this country has the same chance to get ahead and make the most out of their God-given potential.”