After some speculation that it might sit on its endorsement following Hillary's victory, Nevada's Culinary Workers union endorsed Obama today:

The Culinary Workers Union, whose 60,000 members service the famed hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas strip, is a major political force in the state, which holds the next Democratic contest on January 19.

Clinton, the New York senator hoping to become the first woman president, had led in polls in Nevada and courted the union and Hispanics, which make up 45 percent of the union's membership, so the decision will be a disappointment to her.

"It's a little bit of a surprise," said David Damore, an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. "A lot of people expected, especially after Clinton's turnaround in New Hampshire yesterday, that they would go for the establishment candidate."

Democrats moved up the Nevada primary to third for 2008 because the Western state, with its large Hispanic population and diverse mix of people, was seen as more representative of the rest of the United States than Iowa and New Hampshire.

Clinton holds a sizable lead in Nevada, though there hasn't been a new poll in over a month.