In one of his first campaign appearances since he declared he was running for President, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson landed in Minden to speak to a full house of Douglas County Democrats.
Richardson announced his candidacy on Sunday and less than a week later he was in the Silver State creating an organization to take advantage of Nevada's new primary date.
"This is the first political appearance I've made outside of New Mexico since I announced my candidacy," he said. "Nevada is an important state in the West. I want to especially spend time in the rural areas which is why I began my campaign in Northern Nevada."
Richardson served more than 14 years in the House of Representatives before being named ambassador to the United Nations in 1997. A year later, President Bill Clinton appointed him secretary of energy. Richardson ran for governor of New Mexico in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006.
He said he believes that in order to win the Democratic nomination, he will have to do well in Nevada's Jan 19, 2008, caucus.
"I don't have the money that some candidates do," he said. "But I will outwork them. Money won't determine the outcome of the election, votes will."
Richardson pointed out several times that he was a fellow Westerner and understood the challenges faced by Western states.
"I blocked the nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain when I was Secretary of Energy and insisted the location be based on science not politics."
Richardson was born in Pasadena, Calif., and was raised in Mexico City until he was 13. He was first elected to Congress in 1982. He was the first Hispanic to be elected governor of a state.
"I'm not running as a Hispanic, I'm running as an American who's proud of his Hispanic heritage," he said.
Richardson said he thinks Americans are ready for a Hispanic president, just as they are ready for a woman president or a black president.
"This race shouldn't be about the person's ethnicity, it should be about their qualifications."
Richardson and Gen. Wesley Clark spoke to more than 240 Douglas Democrats on Saturday night.
Clark told reporters before the dinner that while he won't say if he'll run for president, he hasn't ruled out a run either.
Clark said he ran in 2004 at the insistence of supporters and felt it was a worthwhile experience.
He said he opposed President Bush's plan for a troop surge in Iraq.
"We don't need a surge in troops, we need a surge in diplomacy," he said.
Clark campaigned for Carson Valley resident Jill Derby's bid for Congress and said he had many friends in Nevada, though he believes it was only his second trip to Carson Valley.
He said he felt party labels have lost some of their importance and felt that more people are voting for the best people.
Democratic Co-Chair Bud Orange said they had been receiving calls all day from people interested in coming.
"They kept calling even after we told them we were sold out," he said.
Orange acknowledged that Douglas County Republicans have a 2-1 majority over Democrats, but pointed out that statewide, Democrats enjoyed a slight margin over the GOP.
"We've worked hard to make some inroads in the majority and statewide we've managed to get some constitutional officers elected," he said.
