In Las Vegas visit, labor secretary says Clinton exceeded expectations in Iowa

By Megan Messerly

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 | 2 a.m.

The day after presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton eked out a victory in Iowa, Labor Secretary Tom Perez was in Las Vegas Tuesday urging union members to turn out for the Nevada Democratic caucus in two and a half weeks.

In the wake of the caucus, the message from Perez and others in the Clinton camp was that the former secretary of state exceeded expectations in Iowa despite the narrowness of her victory. Perez, speaking to a group of union members phone-banking at the offices of AFSCME Local 4041, attributed Clinton’s Iowa victory, at least in part, to labor.

“You look at yesterday in Iowa and the victory that Secretary Clinton had, and you know what? It is an absolutely accurate statement to say that labor was a difference maker,” Perez said. “And we know that it was a close election yesterday.”

Clinton barely escaped Iowa with a victory. According to final results announced by the Iowa Democratic Party, Clinton was awarded 700.59 state delegate equivalents while Sanders received 696.82.

The two candidates now press on to New Hampshire, where Sanders holds a double-digit lead in the polls. Clinton hasn’t given up the hope of a victory there, but political observers had said that, if Sanders does win, it means that the next caucus in Nevada on Feb. 20 will be that much more crucial for Clinton. (According to the last poll, Clinton held a 19.5 point lead over Sanders in Nevada.)

“Both Iowa and New Hampshire are tailor-made for Sen. Sanders,” Perez said in an interview. “You look at the Clinton coalition out here in Nevada, and this will be a really remarkable opportunity for an electorate that really mirrors America to have an opportunity to weigh in.”

Perez added that he was “very confident” because of Clinton’s connection to the Latino, black, Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, as well as Clinton’s union support in Nevada.

Stressing Nevada’s diversity, Perez told union workers that “this state is America.” That sentiment was echoed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid earlier Tuesday at a news conference in Washington.

The veteran lawmaker touted Nevada’s diversity compared to that of Iowa and New Hampshire — a common refrain for Reid. In October, Reid said that there weren’t any minorities in New Hampshire and that “nobody” lives in Iowa, afterwards issuing a cheeky apology for the remarks.

“Did you see the diversity in Iowa last night? Those huge crowds? I saw, there wasn’t any,” Reid said Tuesday. “And of course we go whip off to New Hampshire. Not many people live there, and there’s no diversity. Moving into Nevada, South Carolina, there’s diversity as is in the rest of the country.”

Asked how important winning Nevada would be for Clinton should she lose New Hampshire, Perez said, “Nevada’s always been important.”

“Nevada is a great opportunity to send a very strong signal to the nation that this remarkably robust and diverse coalition of supporters is here to say, ‘Hillary now,’” Perez said.

At the end of Perez’s speech, one union member asked the secretary — somewhat in jest — whether his “one vote” would count in the Nevada caucuses.

“Well, let’s see. What happened last night?” Perez said, to the laughs of union members. “Amen to that. If we ever needed a reminder of every vote counting, we got it last night.”

Perez’s stop at the local AFSCME headquarters wrapped up his two-day tour of the state in support of Clinton. He spoke Monday at organizing events in Carson City and Reno, then visited Pahrump on Tuesday before coming to Las Vegas.