Dodd closes Nevada campaign office

Five hours before the Democratic presidential candidates meet to debate at UNLV, Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-CT) campaign staff has acknowledged that he has closed his Las Vegas campaign office.

“We have staff in Nevada and active supporters, we just don’t have an office in Nevada at this time,” said Colleen Flanagan, Dodd’s national press secretary.

A CNN/Opinion Research Poll of likely Nevada caucus-goers released yesterday shows Dodd barely registering among Democrats. He is in last place with less than one percent, trailing Congressman Dennis Kucinich and even former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel.

Nevada’s early caucus this year has become an important battleground in the race for the Democratic nomination, with some candidates pouring resources into the state in hopes for an early western win.

Despite 27 years as a United States Senator from Connecticut and a term as General Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Dodd has failed to receive both the national media attention and the fundraising dollars of more nationally-prominent politicians. At the end of the third quarter, Dodd had raised just slightly over $13.5 million, a number that is dwarfed by Sen. Hillary Clinton’s more than $90 million and Sen. Barack Obama’s $80 million.

Dodd isn’t the only candidate who has lost resources in the state lately. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign acknowledged earlier in the month that they have transferred ten Nevada staffers to Iowa for “caucus training.” They will not be returning until after the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus, if at all.

And former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards’ Nevada director, Bill Hyers, left the Edwards campaign last week to manage Jeanne Shaheen’s New Hampshire campaign against Republican Sen. John Sununu.