Nevada Democrat Jill Derby, shown at her Genoa, Nev. home Wednesday, July 19, 2006, is a fourth-generation Nevadan running for Congress in Nevada's Republican-dominated 2nd District. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison)
LAS VEGAS " The Nevada Democratic Party will hold its second-in-the-nation presidential caucuses on Saturday, Jan. 19th, the party announced today.
Nevada Democrats had been planning to hold the caucus either on Jan. 12 or Jan. 19, depending on the status of the shifting early nominating calendar. The announcement is made in concert with a decision by South Carolina Democrats to move their primary date to Jan. 26 as the first test of presidential candidates in the South.
"We fully intend to hold our presidential caucuses on Saturday, Jan. 19th. Nevada Democrats have always said we will hold our caucus on the date that best showcases our state as the first test of the Western vote, the Hispanic vote and the labor vote," said Jill Derby, chairwoman of the Nevada Democratic Party.
"We will join South Carolina Democrats in an effort to preserve the DNC's early primary calendar by caucusing on Jan. 19th," Derby said. "We believe it is in the best interest of the Nevada Democratic Party and the presidential campaigns to preserve the calendar. We hope that Iowa and New Hampshire will choose to the do the same."