HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Barbara Carter, in blue sweatshirt, is mobbed by Democratic caucus-goers from Precinct 29 at Pahrump Valley High School. HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Kelly Almond, natty in a cutaway with tails, is directed to his precinct at the high school. Advertisement

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., defeated U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in Saturday's Democratic Party caucus in Nye County, taking 90 delegates to 62 (57.3 to 39.5 percent).

Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., collected only five delegates, with 3.18 percent of the total.

In another quirk to the confusing caucus system, exact vote totals weren't released by the state Democratic party -- only delegate totals.

Clinton easily outpaced Obama in the Pahrump precincts, picking up 79 delegates to Obama's 48. But Obama picked up two delegates apiece in Gabbs and Duckwater to none for Clinton.

The former First Lady edged Obama 5-4 in the race for Tonopah delegates, while Round Mountain split 4-4. Edwards collected two delegates apiece in Round Mountain and Pahrump, one more in Beatty.

State Democratic Party officials were ecstatic about the turnout, following weeks of annoying, taped telephone messages and personal appeals from precinct captains, promotional junk mail for candidates and unprecedented speeches by presidential candidates on the stump in Pahrump.

"Technically, what we did Saturday was elected delegates to the county convention," said Kirsten Searer, Nevada State Democratic Party spokeswoman. "Obama won two of the three congressional districts. They (Obama supporters) said if everything stays the same through the state convention in May, Obama would have more delegates than Clinton."

Searer added, that remains to be seen. Statewide, Clinton had 5,355 delegates, 50.7 percent of the total, Obama 4,773, or 45.2 percent, and Edwards 396, or 3.75 percent after the Saturday caucus.

Voters lined up outside the doors to caucus locations at four schools around Pahrump. Searer said 116,000 Nevada Democrats showed up statewide Saturday. By comparison, that represents less than 30 percent of the 397,190 Nevada Democrats who voted for U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in the last presidential election in 2004.

"Certainly our turnout was much higher than expected. We experienced some growing pains with that. It was the first time we had a competitive caucus," she said.

Besides the crowded entrances, the Democratic Party didn't furnish enough of the presidential preference cards people checked off for their candidate after signing in at the door.

Hillary Clinton supporters in yellow T-shirts slapped stickers on the backs of people at Hafen Elementary who announced they were supporting their candidate.

When people were lined up outside Hafen Elementary School, Democratic Party official Laurayne Murray announced state Democratic Party headquarters gave them permission to allow people already registered to vote to proceed directly to the multi-purpose room.

About 11:30 a.m., the time the doors were supposed to close, Nye County school board President Dennis Keating announced that because twice as many people were still waiting outside, those already registered to vote would be allowed to come in and participate.

A few minutes later came a correction: "The doors of the caucus will close at noon," Keating announced.

But then at 11:30 a.m., Murray announced in the hall the doors would close and the caucus meeting would begin.

Keating told the crowd in the multi-purpose room to go to their individual precinct areas and stand in a group supporting their candidate. In one precinct it was Clinton supporters on one side of the picnic table, Obama backers on the other.

Keating helped count the hands to indicate support for each candidate. Only a few announced they supported Edwards.

The hands were counted twice. Then voters in each precinct were allowed to leave the crowded multi-purpose room and the exercise in party politics was over.