Nevada 2020 caucus ?free-for-all? heats up

Updated 03/03/2019 09:27 AM ESTThe Democratic 2020 fight for Nevada — the oft-forgotten but critically important early presidential nominating state — is rapidly ramping up.While the lion’s share of media attention is focused on Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Democratic hopefuls from Elizabeth Warren to Kamala Harris to Michael Bloomberg are quietly making early, behind-the-scenes moves that underscore the state’s sway: Warren has moved quickest to establish state-level campaign infrastructure, while Harris dropped into Nevada this weekend and Bloomberg, as well as Harris and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, have met with the influential Culinary Union in the past week.Story Continued BelowThe activity highlights the 2020 opportunity available in Nevada, which operatives described as wide-open and waiting for a candidate to stake a strong claim to the state. Former Sen. Harry Reid told POLITICO in an interview that Nevada, “a free-for-all” for Democratic candidates, has not initially gotten the attention it deserves ahead of 2020, “but it will.” Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox.By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. Now, California’s absentee voting period will overlap with the four early states, which could “push presidential dollars out of Nevada and into California,” said one Nevada Democrat. “Some, particularly if they have the resources, may just go for California, so that’s certainly a consideration.”Reid defended Nevada’s significance, arguing that California “is a different calculation, but that doesn’t take away from the importance of these early caucus states.” Back in 2007, Reid, then the Senate majority leader, led the push to put Nevada among the early nominating states, arguing that its first-in-the-West status forced presidential candidates into territory that’s more reflective of the country at large.That fairly new position means that unlike other early states, “the playbook doesn’t really exist for Nevada,” said David Cohen, who led President Barack Obama’s efforts in the state in 2008.