For the past two years, 2008 Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has burnished his organized labor credentials at union rallies, on picket lines and in speeches to anti-Wal-Mart activists.

With a new addition to the upcoming Democratic presidential calendar - a Nevada caucus is scheduled to take place between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary - union support could figure more prominently than in years past. And Edwards, political observers and labor officials say, has made considerable inroads with Nevada unions that will influence the state's caucus.

Unions have "several really good friends in the Democratic Party," said Terry Greenwald, secretary and treasurer of the Las Vegas bartenders union Local 165. "But John Edwards, by my opinion, has been the most visible."

Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee and former North Carolina senator, officially announced his candidacy yesterday in New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward. He'll be in Portsmouth today.

Since the last presidential election, he has been laying the groundwork for a second White House bid. While New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama have seized the spotlight, Edwards has traveled the country courting labor leaders.

In Miami, he joined Teamsters President James Hoffa on a picket line. In Ohio, he spoke at a rally for the United Steelworkers of America. A trip to Hawaii included a stint helping Hawaiian hotel workers push for better benefits, according to news reports. He walked picket lines in Connecticut, launched a four-city tour for hotel workers and strengthened his ties with service employees unions in Nevada, said Rob Christensen, a political columnist and reporter at the News & Observer in North Carolina, Edwards's home state.

"He's gone after them hard, and it's paid off," said Larry Sabato, director of University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "It gives Edwards potentially a leg up in two of the first four contests: Iowa and Nevada. It doesn't help him in New Hampshire. It doesn't help in South Carolina, but he's the favorite son there." Edwards won the 2004 South Carolina Democratic primary.

In Edwards's second presidential campaign, his labor ties are his primary asset, Sabato added. "It's the best thing he's got going for him. He's no longer a fresh face."

Edwards's support for a constitutional amendment to raise Nevada's minimum wage also won him praise from local labor officials. "He was very visible in Nevada," said Danny Thompson, executive secretary and treasurer for the Nevada AFL-CIO.

"It's difficult to say who's going to win the endorsement," Thompson said. "But some people talk about supporting issues, and it's refreshing to have someone who's willing to stand up with you." The increase - which raised the minimum wage by $1 for employees who don't receive health benefits - won final approval in last month's election.

Most unions are months away from endorsing candidates. But 2004 presidential candidate Dick Gephardt, who traditionally won some union backing, likely won't run. Edwards, political observers said, could garner substantial labor support.

He has a history of support from UNITE HERE, the union of textile workers and hotel and restaurant employees that provided Edwards with his sole prominent union endorsement in 2004. The culinary workers union, which belongs to UNITE HERE, boasts 60,000 members and is "the largest and most politically active Nevada local," according to Michael Mishak, a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. Edwards has already won an early endorsement from Nevada's Laborers' Local 872.

Edwards's efforts coincide with the growing clout of Nevada unions, political analysts and labor officials said. "Labor is resurgent in Nevada politics," Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, wrote in an e-mail.

While union membership is stagnant or shrinking in other states, Nevada unions are winning new members. Last year, 13.8 percent of Nevada workers were union members, compared with 12.5 percent nationwide. Las Vegas "is probably the most unionized city in the United States," said Don McNamee, political coordinator and vice president of Teamsters Local 631. "In southern Nevada, labor is huge."

This summer, the Democratic National Committee decided to squeeze a Nevada caucus between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. The decision was driven by Nevada's high union membership and geographic diversity: The state has doubled in population since 1990 and boasts a higher percentage of Hispanic residents than the country as a whole. Democratic officials consider Nevada a possible swing state and hope an early caucus would energize Democratic voters. In 2004, President Bush eked out a 2 percentage point win over Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

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