Campaign Notebook: Richardson out, unions endorse Obama

It’s been an eventful week so far, and that trend continues into the weekend. From AP reports that Bill Richardson is withdrawing from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination to endorsements in the run-up to the Nevada caucuses to quirky little press releases from congressional candidates, let’s break it down:

As noted, the AP has reported that Bill Richardson is dropping out. This leaves the Democratic field at three, including senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, and former senator John Edwards. The race is increasingly becoming a battle between the two current senators — in the aftermath of a close primary in New Hampshire, Obama has announced the endorsement of several large labor unions, including the Culinary Workers Union and SEIU local in Nevada and the national Plumbers and Pipefitters organization, which includes more than 9,000 members in Minnesota. The value of these endorsements cannot be underestimated:The culinary workers are 60,000 strong in Nevada and include thousands of Las Vegas workers who can be counted on to be organized in the upcoming caucuses — but their timing is interesting. Earlier in the campaign, there was a general feeling that John Edwards would receive strong union support due to his fiery populist rhetoric. However, the major unions chose to hold off on endorsing a candidate, and now it seems their logic is playing out: They want to be with a winner not named Hillary Clinton.

Four and a half weeks to go before Tsunami Tuesday, Minnesotans — mark your calendars! (That’s also my birthday, hint, hint…)