Election campain hits 'Best Small Town in America'

ELKO, Nevada, (AFP)

The glitz and glamour of a US presidential election campaign steamrolled into this snow-bound town of Elko on Friday, with top Democrats scrambling for votes in the self-styled "Best Small Town in America."

An hour-long plane journey and a world away from the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip, this remote town of around 20,000 people has become an important stop on the campaign trail ahead of Saturday's Nevada caucuses.

As the seat of the third most populous county, Elko has assumed added significance in the caucuses, which are attracting more attention than usual because of their earlier slot in the election calendar.

Prior to 2007, the last national candidate to visit this staunchly Republican outpost was vice-president Richard Nixon in 1956.

But on Friday Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards were all due to pay visits to a town better known for an annual festival of Cowboy Poetry, a handful of casinos, and five legal brothels.

Clinton's private chartered jet -- "Hil-Force One" -- touched down at Elko's tiny local airport shortly after 1 pm local time before the Democratic front-runner addressed local supporters at a community hall.

"There's so many places to go, so many things to do, but I said 'I've got to go to Elko!'" Clinton told cheering supporters after being introduced by retired US army general Wesley Clark.

"I started my campaign by saying I wanted to have a conversation with the American people and I've been listening.

"Tomorrow it will be Nevada's turn to have your voices heard so I wanted to come here and personally ask you to participate in the caucuses."

Clinton used her speech to reiterate proposals for tackling the foreclosure crisis, hoping to strike a chord with locals in Nevada, one of the worst hit states in the sub-prime mortgage crunch.

"I feel strongly we have to address the foreclosure crisis -- Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the process," Clinton said.

"I want a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures, I want to freeze interest rates on these adjustable rate mortgages for five years."

The appearance in Elko of so many Democratic candidates has made an impression on locals, according to retired couple Dale and Margie Van Der Voort, who moved to the region from California five years ago.

"Five years ago you would have been lucky to find four or five Democrats to show up to something like this. But now look at this," said Dale, 65, gesturing to the crowded hall of several hundred. "I'm for Hillary because I believe that the United States right now is in a world of crap.

Margie, 67, told AFP: "A friend of mine who's lived here all her life says that people were scared to say they were Democrats before because they might get shot. But people want a change."