Steven Horsford

LAS VEGAS - Unsurprisingly, the Interim Finance Committee adjourned today without any great steps taken toward resolving Nevada's current budget crisis.  Balancing the state's budget, which the Economic Forum last week projected was running a $250 million deficit, will now be the topic of a special session of the state legislature to convene tomorrow.

Following the governor's original call for a special session earlier in June, Democratic legislative leaders, including Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley (D-Las Vegas) and Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas) disputed the need for a special session and argued the shortfall could be dealt with through the IFC process.

Those arguments were silenced by the forum's projection and instead of attempting a stop-gap fix of the current shortfall, the IFC approved only minor, previously decided upon cuts.

An assortment of Democratic party leaders and elected officials declare their support behind Ill. Sen. Barack Obama.: Politicker Photo.LAS VEGAS - An entire platoon of state Democratic elected officials assembled at their state headquarters today in a show of unity behind Ill. Sen. Barack Obama's bid for the presidency.  The event, largely a big photo opportunity, was headed by state Sen. Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas), the leader of Obama's Nevada campaign, and Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, formerly head of N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton's effort in the state.

Both Obama's and Clinton's campaigns struggled at every stage to secure Nevada's delegates to the Democratic National Convention. At times, particularly during a lawsuit to shut down at-large caucus sites on The Strip and following an aborted Clark County Convention, the rivalry brought accusations that many predicted would fester after the primaries.

Today's photo opportunity, held one day before Obama's first visit to Nevada since securing his party's nomination, was an attempt to allay those concerns.

LAS VEGAS - State Democratic leaders came together in Las Vegas Monday to display their unity behind Ill. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

LAS VEGAS - State Democratic leaders came together in Las Vegas Monday to display their unity behind Ill. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

The Economic Forum, left, meets in Carson City Friday.CARSON CITY - At the request of Gov. Jim Gibbons, the Economic Forum is meeting today to come up with a projection for the state's budget shortfall.  The forum is examining projections on a dozen different revenue sources from the legislative counsel bureau, the budget division and the various governmental agencies that oversee revenue collection.

Since Gibbons' call for a special session of the legislature last week, key legislators and the governor's office have remained far apart on estimates of just how much in spending cuts or increased revenue will be necessary to make the state solvent.  The governor's budget office predicts a shortfall of approximately $240 million, while the LCB expects closer to $100 million.

Key Democratic legislators, including Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford, have said that a special session of the legislature is unnecessary, that their estimate of the budget shortfall can be addressed through the Interim Finance Committee process.

Nevada Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas).: Horsford said Friday that the governor's call for a special session was an unnecessary 'political maneuver.'LAS VEGAS - Following Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons' surprise announcement Friday that he would call for a special session of the state legislature to address Nevada's budget crisis, state Republicans swung into line behind the governor in arguing that choices are limited between either deferring state employees' cost-of-living allowance increases or laying off workers.

Nevada Democrats and labor unions condemned the call, however, saying a special session is not necessary and disputing the need for a COLA deferment.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio (R-Reno) led the way in supporting the governor, first suggesting the COLA deferment in the governor's release Friday morning.

From left, SD-5 candidate Shirley Breeden, Greg Esposito, and AD-21 candidate Ellen Spiegel in Henderson last week.: Although most of the Democratic establishment is staying positive about Breeden's candidacy, the NSEA's endorsment of her opponent last week is a troubling sign. Politicker Photo.LAS VEGAS-Months ago, intent on retaking the state senate, Nevada Democrats cast their sights on Senate District 5 as one of two key targets. But hopes of capturing the seat may be fading as their candidate, a self-described "political unknown," has failed to win the endorsement of one of the pillars of the state Democratic establishment, the Nevada State Education Association.

And the endorsement of incumbent state Sen. Joe Heck (R-Henderson) by the state's teachers' union is just the latest in a series of missed opportunities for state Democrats that have led some Democratic operatives to believe their candidate, Shirley Breeden, is unlikely to defeat Heck.

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez-MastoLAS VEGAS-Nevada's Attorney General, Catherine Cortez-Masto, has endorsed Ill. Sen. Barack Obama for the Democrats' presidential nominee.

Cortez-Masto's endorsement came just after 7 p.m. PDT, as polls closed in Montana.

With her endorsement, Obama has now secured four of Nevada's nine superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention to be held in Denver in August.

The floor of the Nevada Democratic Convention at the Sierra Grand Resort in Reno.RENO-The Nevada Democratic Convention has been gaveled to order and business has begun.  The morning's festivities will include former Pres. Bill Clinton speaking on behalf of N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton and, reportedly, actor Kal Penn speaking on behalf of Ill. Sen. Barack Obama.

Presidential preference voting will occur this afternoon along with elections of national delegates.

Former U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan has taken the podium as temporary chairman and is regaling the crowd with calls to elect a Democratic president, bring the troops home from Iraq, elect Dina Titus and Jill Derby to congress, give Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley a veto-proof majority and make Steven Horsford state Senate Majority Leader.

Newly elected Nevada Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford speaks to volunteers at a voter registration drive Saturday.: Photo by Joseph K. Cooper/PolitickerNV.comLAS VEGAS-When Nevada Senate Democrats wrapped up their four-hour meeting Friday night, they had selected a new leader and created the outlines of a plan to take over the majority. The only things they lacked were specifics.

"Our caucus spent a lot of time last night talking about how we were going to work as a team to take the majority in November," said state Sen. Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas), the newly elected Democratic leader, Saturday.

"Our first goal is to win in November, so that's what we're focused on. Once we get beyond winning, we'll start looking into how we will govern in 2009."